


I think I might be pregnant

by DustyAttic



Series: Evak Family [1]
Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: AU, Angst, Evak is so in love, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Mild Smut, Mpreg, maybe some intense smut idrk yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-11-21 17:48:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 79,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11362503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DustyAttic/pseuds/DustyAttic
Summary: Isak is nineteen, Even is twenty-one, and they had a plan. A plan that they've very, very carefully stuck to. Until, that is, Isak gets sick and can't seem to figure out what's wrong with him. Spoiler: he's not sick.Or the AU where both guys and girls can get pregnant.





	1. One

Chapter 1  
Something was most definitely wrong. 

Very, very wrong, actually. 

Like, maybe life-threateningly wrong. 

As a promising young med student, Isak Valtersen prided himself on being able to pick up on whatever illness had snaked its way into his and Even’s home pretty quickly, but this… he wouldn’t be able to diagnose it if you paid him. 

Leaning back against their tub, the blond boy let out a sigh. He grabbed his phone from where he’d dropped it on the floor- thank god it hadn’t shattered- and started to reply to Jonas, who’d texted to ask if he was feeling better right before Isak had emptied his stomach into their toilet for the tenth time that week. “Not really. Puked again. God, I’m going to fucking kill whoever got me sick.”

Jonas replied quickly. “How do you know somebody got you sick? maybe its just your shitty immune system.”

Isak: Fuck you, my immune system is perfect

Jonas: Yeah right, man, you get sick more often than anyone ive ever met.

Jonas: Gotta go, eva just got home. Text me if it gets worse.

Isak: ok, tell eva hi 

Letting his arms fall back to his sides, Isak looked up towards the ceiling. “Fuck,” he breathed, exhausted. He’d been absolutely wiped out for almost a month now, thanks to all the stress from his classes, and now this stupid bug was making his fatigue a million times worse. All he wanted was for Even to come home and make him something to eat, something bland, preferably, so that he wouldn’t find himself kneeling over the toilet again within the next few hours, and he knew that if he texted that he’d been sick again, the older boy would definitely come home, but Isak couldn’t ask him to leave class. Instead, he picked up his phone and texted Sana. 

Isak: Hei sanasol

Isak: could you spare a moment to help out your best bud?

Sana: what’s up?

Sana: are you still sick?

Isak: very sick

Isak: deathly ill

Sana: I’ll be sure to write a speech for your funeral, then

Isak: haha<3 do you have any idea about what this could be?

Sana: you’ve just been throwing up, right?

Sana: maybe it’s just food poisoning

Isak: that would’ve passed by now

Sana: well what are your other symptoms?

Isak: god, what aren’t my symptoms?

Isak: i’ve been dizzy, nauseous, tired all the time, sore, irritable

Sana: you’re always irritable, Isak

Isak: MORE than normal

Sana: yikes

Sana: poor Even

Sana: how’s he holding up?

Isak: how’s HE holding up? He’s not the one who’s dying!

Sana: I’d be dying if I had to live with you like this

Isak: shut upppp and help meee

Sana: haha, okay. You said you’re tired and nauseous all the time?

Isak: yes

Isak: and bloated

Sana: Isak… I think you should go to the doctor with Even, okay?

Isak: why?

Isak: I hate the doctor you know that

Sana: you want to be a doctor

Isak: a medical researcher! It’s different!

Sana: whatever. Just trust me. You and Even should go see somebody

Isak: why me and even?

Isak: is it bad?

Isak: it’s cancer isn’t it

Isak: you can tell me

Sana: Isak! Just go to the doctor! I don’t think I should be the one giving you this news!

Isak: what news?!?!?!

Isak: if it’s cancer you can tell me

Sana: it’s not cancer

Isak: oh thank god

Sana: I’m going to give you some time to think about this Isak. I’m honestly surprised you’re so confused. 

Isak: shut up, I’m tired and sick, I can’t be smart right now

Sana: Excuses excuses. I always knew I was the smart one

Isak: stop being mean I’m dying Sana

Isak: would you want your last words to me to be so cruel

Sana: You’re not dying! I’m gonna go now, take some time to think over your symptoms and stop being so dramatic

Isak: fine

Isak: bye sana

Sana: Bye Isabelle

Suddenly, Isak heard the front door open and he scrambled to stand. Fuck, what time was it? How long had he been sitting on the floor of their stupid bathroom? Turns out, getting up that quickly was a bad idea, because he felt a wave of lightheadedness hit him and he had to lurch forward and grab the edge of the toilet and then he was retching again and- fuck. Why did the universe hate him?

“Oh, baby,” he heard Even saying worriedly as he dry heaved. Isak felt a warm hand on his back, rubbing gently circles between his shoulder blades. “Has this been happening all day? I thought you said you were feeling better.”

“I was,” Isak said weakly, nausea subsiding. Maybe his stomach finally got the memo that it was completely empty. “Until, like, nine.”

“Here,” Even said, trying to help his boy stand. “Let’s get you to bed, okay? I’ll get the bin.”

Isak grumbled something inaudible and leaned into Even’s chest. The older boy wrapped strong arms around him, pressing a soft kiss into his hair. 

“I’m dying, Even. I’m serious,” Isak said after a while. Even tightening his grip.

“Have you thought of seeing a doctor? I know you said it’s just a stomach bug or something, but it doesn’t seem to be getting any better.”

“Nei, it’s fine. It’ll pass. But I feel like I’m dying.”

Pulling away, Even clicked his tongue. “Look at you. You’re exhausted. Come on, come lay down.” He began to walk out of the room, fingers loosely entwined with Isak’s, leading them towards the bedroom, where he laid Isak down and tugged off his jeans. “Here,” he said, tossing a pair of sweatpants onto the bed. He grabbed a tshirt, too. “You’ll feel more comfortable in this.”

Isak stared at his button down with a pout. The buttons were already strained, and he knew he’d look a hell of a lot worse with the shirt off all together. “Baby?” Even said, trying to get his attention. With a sniff, Isak looked up. 

“Can you not look?” he asked, voice feeble and pathetic. 

“What?”

“Can you not look when I change my shirt?” he tried again, surprised when he felt his eyes actually fill with tears. Even immediately frowned, over and sitting beside him, pulling the smaller boy into his side. 

“Hey, what’s wrong? What’s going on?” he asked, pushing some of Isak’s prince curls away from his forehead. 

“Nothing, it’s stupid, I just… I’ve put on a bit of weight,” Isak said, voice cracking. He felt Even sigh beside him and hurriedly wiped at the tears that had spilled onto his cheeks. “I haven’t been working out and I haven’t been eating much, I’ve just been drinking water and stuff and so I’m bloated and I just- I don’t even know why I’m crying, I’m just so tired from throwing up all the time and-”

“Hey, hey, shh, angel,” Even hushed, kissing Isak’s cheek softly and pulling them both back onto the mattress. “Breathe, okay? You’re fine. You never have to explain yourself to me.” 

Isak let out a long breath, curling his fingers through the older boy’s shirt. “I won’t watch you change if you don’t want me to, but you need to know that I have never and will never see anything less than perfect when I look at you.”

Sniffing again, Isak nodded, and hesitantly began to unbutton his shirt. He sat up timidly to take it all the way off, self consciously curling in on himself when Even sat up, too, to reach over and grab the tshirt from where he’d left it. “Here,” the older boy said, tugging it over Isak’s head and ignoring the way it pressed against his stomach where it usually laid loosely. “Now get some rest, Issy, okay? Everything’s going to be fine. You’re just a little sick, okay?”

Nodding, Isak let himself be tucked into bed and found himself drifting off quickly. Way more quickly than he usually did, being a lifelong insomniac. Before he knew it, he was dead asleep. Even sighed from the kitchen table, watching as his boy rolled over slightly and pulled the blankets tighter around him. 

Despite his calm exterior, Even was getting seriously worried. Isak got sick a lot- whether it was a cough, a stomach bug, a sore throat or mild fever- but it was never, ever like this. He’d been throwing up for nine days straight, and, when he wasn’t kneeling over the toilet, he was passed out in bed. He’d begged Isak to see a doctor, but the smaller boy had insisted that, considering he practically was a doctor, he could handle this himself. If things weren’t better by tomorrow, Even would have to put his foot down. 

After finishing up with some of his schoolwork, Even stood and started making himself lunch. It was only two in the afternoon. Isak had been asleep for almost two hours now. Taking out his phone, Even leaned back against the counter and opened up his chat with Yousef. 

Even: Halla, what do you do when Sana gets sick?

Yousef: What do you mean?

Yousef: Is this about Isak?

Yousef: Sana mentioned something about him not feeling well. 

Even: Ja, he’s been sick for a week. I want him to see a doctor but he keeps insisting that he’s fine, and that he knows he’s fine because he’s a premed student. I don’t know what to do. Does this happen with Sana?

Yousef: Sana never gets sick. 

Even: ?? Everyone gets sick!

Yousef: Not Sana. Once she coughed and I asked if she was feeling okay and she looked at me like I had three heads.

Even: Well what am I supposed to do now? I don’t have any other friends conveniently dating premed students!

Yousef: Haha, sorry man. If it makes you feel better, Sana said he asked her about his symptoms and she says she thinks he’s fine. She was smiling, too. She’s probably happy that he came to her for advice. Those two are always competing.

Even: That does make me feel better. Thanks<3

Yousef: Anytime<3

Putting his phone down, Even finished his lunch, and then sat down and began to eat. After a few minutes, he heard shuffling and looked up to see Isak moving around in bed, probably waking up. 

When he opened his eyes, Isak was struck with the strangest feeling. He stared at his pillow, the blue one, and furrowed his brow. He felt like he wasn’t alone.  
Looking down, Isak realized he had one hand pressed over his belly, which was warm and firm against his fingers. The feeling of not being alone increased and he brought his hand up and down a few times, rubbing over the shirt. As he started to think about what Sana had said earlier, he felt a numb sort of tingly feeling spread through his whole body. He curled his fingers, letting out the softest breath, and nearly jumped a foot when he heard Even say, “Good morning, sweetheart,” from the table. 

Sitting up, Isak took in his boyfriend, who was eating a sandwich. “Hi,” he breathed. 

“Feeling better?”

Isak had almost forgotten his whole breakdown earlier. God, Jesus fucking Christ. His breakdown. His random and uncalled for tears. About his fucking weight gain. Which he blamed on being tired and sick all the time. Jesus Christ. 

After sitting dazedly for a second, he realized Even was staring at him in concern and quickly nodded. “I- I actually forgot- I have to go to Jonas’s.”

“What?” Even asked, standing and clearing his plate. “Why?”

“I forgot, he needs help with…” Isak fumbled to think of something as he got out of bed. “He needs help with something with Eva. They’re in a fight.”

“Oh.” Even watched as Isak grabbed his jacket and zipped it on. “Are you sure you should be leaving the house? What if you get sick again?”

“I won’t, it usually passes by the afternoon,” the younger boy said, and Jesus fucking Christ again, how on earth had he been so stupid? “I’ll be back soon, love you.” He stopped and gave Even a gentle peck before darting out of the apartment, leaving the older boy to puzzle over what had just happened. 

On the tram, Isak nervously fiddled with his hands. He was reeling- what the fuck? He couldn’t be right. There was no way! They’d always been so careful and… and they’d always talked about waiting until they were at least in their mid twenties and financially stable! Not nineteen and twenty-one and with less than 2000 kroner in their savings account!

Isak thought back to the first time he’d ever seen a man who was pregnant. He’d stopped and squinted at him and the other man holding his hand before nervously whispering to his mom, “What’s wrong with them?”

“Nothing, sweetheart, don’t look,” his mom had replied, tugging him away. Later that night, he’d asked his dad about it. 

“Probably a couple of homos,” his dad had said mindlessly, scanning his newspaper. Isak scrunched up his nose. 

“Can men get pregnant?”

“Yeah. It’s just less common, since homosexuality is pretty rare.”

Isak had considered this. It seemed so strange- girls were made of soft, round parts, whereas men were boxy and hard. Pregnancy seemed so inherently female, like skirts and makeup and nail polish. As he grew up, though, it started to get more common. Being gay was becoming less and less stigmatized, so seeing a pregnant man on the street became less of a shock. It still felt weird, wrong in some way, but it wasn’t as surprising. 

When Isak moved in with Eskild, a man who sometimes wore skirts and makeup and nail polish, and eventually met Even, who accepted everyone and everything, he started to really understand that there was nothing strange about a man being pregnant. It was just different. He and Even had always discussed adoption, because that seemed more likely and overpopulation was an issue and, in the end, Isak still wasn’t comfortable with the idea of ever being pregnant himself. But now… now this was happening. 

When he got to Jonas’s, the blond boy realized he hadn’t even texted to say he was coming. “Too late now,” he thought as he knocked on the door. Jonas answered a moment later. 

“Oh, hey. What’s up?” the curly haired boy asked, tilting his head. Isak stared at him mutely before nodding. 

“Can I come in?” he asked, slightly out of breath from being so worked up. 

“Of course,” Jonas said, moving aside. Isak walked in and sat down in his favorite comfy chair. Jonas followed, sitting across from him. He was giving Isak a weird look, probably because the blond boy was still in his pajamas and had literally just barged in with no explanation or warning at all. “So…” Jonas trailed, staring at him. 

“Jonas,” Isak said, shaking his head. “Jonas, I think I might be fucking pregnant.”

“What?!” Isak heard squealed from the staircase and, whipping his head around, he saw Eva running down, long auburn hair flying behind her. Shit. Fuck. “Are you serious?!” 

“I, uh…” Isak said stupidly, looking between her and Jonas. Jonas looked just as blindsided as Isak felt. “I think so.”

“Dude, does Even know?” was the first thing Jonas asked, at the same time Eva squealed again. 

“No! I mean, I don’t even know! I just… I was thinking about why I’ve been so sick lately and I… I mean, it makes sense.”

“Fuck. Fuck, Isak. What are you gonna do?” Eva asked, grinning. 

“I don’t know! I guess I should take a test. I mean… that’s what makes sense, right?”

“Yes! We can go get one now!” the girl said, standing and going to look for her bag. Jonas stood, too, still looking shellshocked. 

“Now?” Isak asked nervously, tugging at the hem of his shirt. 

“I mean, if you want. Don’t you want to know for sure?” Eva asked. 

Isak took a deep breath. “Yeah,” he said after a beat. “Yeah, I guess I would. But could you like… could you maybe pretend it’s for you?”

Eva looked at him, head tilted. She frowned slightly. “Of course. But you know, if you are pregnant, you’re going to have to get used to people knowing.”

“That’s assuming he wants to keep it,” Jonas added, looking Isak up and down. “I mean… no matter what you guys choose, we’ll be there for you. You’re young. You have a lot of options. Right, Eva?”

Nodding seriously, Eva said, “Right. Of course.”

Isak swallowed. He felt like this was all getting crazier by the second. “Takk,” he managed after some time, standing. Jonas and Eva gave small nods and smiles as the three of them got ready to go out. 

Once they were at the store, Isak was feeling even more nervous. There seemed to be endless options of pregnancy tests. Eva knew what she was doing, however, and grabbed a few of what she proclaimed to be “the best one” quickly. Isak looked at her with raised eyebrows. “We’ve had a scare before,” she brushed him off, making Isak remember back to the time Jonas had called him freaking out at midnight during their first year when Eva had called saying her period was late. 

“Oh, yeah. Right.”

“Anyway, these’ll work. I’ll go pay.” She marched off determinedly to the cash register, leaving Jonas and Isak alone for the first time. 

“So,” Jonas said, looking at Isak was worried eyes. The blond boy blushed. “Are you… what do you think you’ll do if it’s positive?”

“I don’t know,” Isak said, shaking his head. “This feels so fucking weird man. It feels, like… dirty.”

“Hey,” Jonas cut in, shaking his head, “there’s nothing dirty about it. You and Even love each other and you might have made life. Would it be dirty if it were a girl?” Isak shot him a glare because they both knew the answer. “See? It’s just all that… internalized shit. But it’s true and you decide to keep it… or him or her… Even will literally be over the moon, okay? There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Okay, let’s go,” Eva said, returning before Isak had a chance to respond. When she wasn’t looking, Isak took Jonas’s arm and squeezed it. 

“I think I want to take it at home,” Isak said on the tram. Eva and Jonas both turned to him. “I mean… if it’s positive… I don’t know. I think I’d just like to be at home.”

“Okay,” Eva said, and Jonas nodded. They were both being so understanding, which somehow made Isak feel even worse. His heart was in his stomach as they got off at their stop and he clutched the plastic bag full of tests like his life depended on it. There was a lady looking at him strangely and he realized she could probably see the label of the box through the thin plastic. 

Before getting home, Isak shoved the bag into the huge pocket of his sweatpants, grateful that he wasn’t in jeans. Walking up the stairs, he felt himself get more and more nervous. When he opened the door to the flat he found Even watching TV nervously. “Baby?”

“Hei,” the younger boy breathed, and, before he knew it, Even was up and crushing him in a hug.

“Shit, Isak, you freaked me out! You left all weirdly and then you weren’t answering your phone and I was worried you were angry at me or something!” 

Isak felt horrible, realizing he hadn’t even checked his phone the whole time he was out. “Sorry, sweetheart, I just… I lost track of time.”

“It’s fine. How are Jonas and Eva?” asked Even as he moved away. Isak stomach turned to ice- how did he even know Eva was there?- but then he remembered he’d said they were fighting. 

“Oh, uh… they’re fine,” he said hurriedly, and, then, before Even could say anything else, he added, “I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Do you feel sick?” asked Even, frowning. Isak quickly shook his head. 

“No, I just have to pee.” He walked past Even and shut himself into their little bathroom. With shaking hands, he took the tests out of his pocket and unboxed one of them. It looked relatively simple: pee and wait a minute. 

From outside the bathroom, Even listened closely for any sign of Isak being sick. When he heard some sort of rustling, like Isak was taking something out of a bag, he frowned. Had Jonas given him drugs? They got high together, but nothing harder than weed. Why would Isak be hiding it from him if it was weed? Had Jonas given him something harder, was that why he was acting so strange? Was that what was making him sick? He heard Isak pee but the boy didn’t come out. “Baby?” he asked. “Do you feel okay?”

“I’m fine,” Isak replied immediately, and Even heard him crumpling something up and then washing his hands and then the door was opening and he was walking out. Even watched as he walked past slowly and laid back on the bed. “I’m fine.”

“Okay. Baby, I was thinking… I really think you should see a doctor if you’re still sick tomorrow. I know you think you’re fine, but of this isn’t going away…”

“This isn’t going away for a long time, Evy,” the younger boy said breathlessly. Even felt dread seep through his stomach. 

“Were you really at Jonas’s today?” he asked, mind jumping to the worst. Had Isak gone to the doctor without him? Was something seriously wrong?”

“Yeah. Come here,” Isak said, gesturing Even over. The older boy went immediately, sitting down, and Isak leaned against his side, tugging Even’s arm around his shoulder. “Even, I have to tell you something,” he said. 

“Whatever it is, baby, we can do this together, okay?” Even replied quickly, terrified that Isak was about to say he was dying or something. 

“I know. This is about us.”

“Us?”

“Us.” Looking up with beautiful green eyes. He took one of Even’s hands and turned a little so that he was hiding his face in the crook of the older boy’s neck. “I’m pregnant.”

Even’s whole world seemed to glitch. “You-” he said quickly, pulling back and looking down at Isak. “You- you’re- what?”

“I’m pregnant,” Isak repeated, taking both of Even’s hands. 

“Pregnant?”

“Yes, Even? Are you unfamiliar with the idea?”

Letting out a soft breath, Even let his eyes travel up and down Isak’s whole body. “So you… you’re… that’s why you’ve been so sick?”

“Yeah, baby.”

“And you… we… but you… how?”

“I don’t know,” Isak said, looking down at his lap. “We’ve always been so careful.” He sniffed, licking his lips. “I mean… if you don’t… I know were both young, and if you don’t want to… I get it.”

“Isak,” Even whispered after a beat. Isak looked up with watery eyes. “Isak!” he repeated, surging forward to press his lips to the smaller boy’s, pushing them both back onto the mattress. He climbed on top of Isak, hovering over him before breaking the kiss. Staring down, he tried to find the right words. “You- you’re actually-”

“For fuck’s sake, yes!” Isak laughed wetly, reaching up and pushing Even’s hair back out of his face. “Are you… is that okay?”

“Isak! Of course it’s okay! I mean… is it okay with you?”

“I think so,” Isak said softly. “I mean, I’m scared… but I want to do this. With you.”

Grinning like a madman, Even shimmied down and gently pushed Isak’s shirt up away from his belly. “So you… our baby is in there?”

Laughing again, Isak held onto Even’s hair. “Technically it’s not a baby yet, it’s just a fertilized egg. It’s embryonic period won’t start until the fifth week. That’s when its brain will grow and its body will begin to develop and stuff.” 

Even didn’t seem to hear a word Isak said, instead only staring down at his stomach with the most awestruck expression. “It’s real, though? In there?”

“Yeah,” Isak breathed, nodding. 

“Can I…” Even looked up and then back at Isak’s belly and the smaller boy gently placed one of his hands over it. Even stuttered out a short breath, staring down in wonder. He lowered his body carefully and pressed the softest kiss just above Isak’s navel. 

Once he looked up again, Isak was crying, and Even nearly was, too, smiling so wide that his eyes turned to tiny crescents. He stood suddenly, gesturing for Isak to get up, too. 

Huffing, the younger boy got out of bed. “Here, hold up your shirt,” Even directed, making Isak flush. 

“Why?”

“Because I want to take a picture! Every day!” 

“Even,” Isak whined, rolling his head back.

“Baby, I don’t know what you thought was going to happen,” Even laughed, pushing Isak’s shirt up. The younger boy huffed but did as he said, smirking as Even took about ten photos. When he was done, Isak let the hem of his shirt drop back down and tugged Even back to bed, curling up onto his chest. 

“I don’t know how we’re going to tell everybody,” he mumbled. 

“Everyone will be so excited!”

“Yeah, but… I’m nervous.”

“Why are you nervous, baby?”

“I don’t know… this is gonna change everything. I’m gonna have to graduate later than planned.”

“That’s fine. You’re so smart, you’ll catch up so quickly.”

“And I’m gonna be all weird and big.”

“You’re gonna be so beautiful. So, so beautiful.”

“We’re gonna have to go to the doctor to see how far along I am. We shouldn’t tell anyone until it’s been at least three months. Except Jonas and Eva helped me buy the test, so they should know. And I think Sana already knows. Sana always knows.”

Sighing, Even kissed his forehead. “I’m so incrediably excited, angel,” he murmured, making Isak hum contentedly. “I love you so, so much.”

“Yeah?”

“Fuck yeah. You and this baby are going to be my whole world. Already are.”

“I love you,” Isak said, scooting up to kiss his boyfriend. Even cupped his face gently. 

“I love you, too.”


	2. Two

Chapter 2

Isak woke up with a soft groan, rolling over in bed to reach out for Even, but nobody was there. This made him even grumpier and he let out a soft hurt sound, whining, “Evyyy.”

“It’s okay, baby, I’m right here,” the older boy was quickly cooing, walking over from where he’d been making breakfast and climbing into bed beside Isak. He pulled the smaller boy into a spooning position, putting his hand over Isak’s belly and smiling at the contented hum the younger boy let out. “How do you feel?” he asked softly. Isak still hadn’t even opened his eyes. 

“My back hurts,” he said. Even pouted and peppered kisses into the back of his head. 

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Do you want breakfast? I haven’t made much yet, I didn’t want to make something that would make you feel sick.”

“M’not hungry,” Isak mumbled, shaking his head, and Even could tell he was drifting back to sleep, so he gently nosed at the back of his neck. 

“You gotta get up, sleepy. You told Eskild you’d visit today, and I think this is one visit you’re definitely gonna want to be there for.”

“Mmm, but he’s gonna be so loud about it,” Isak mumbled tiredly. Even huffed out a laugh, earning a glare. “It’s not funny. He’s gonna be screaming and it’s gonna give me a headache.”

Trying to suppress his smile, Even nodded. “Come on,” he said, “let’s get up, okay? You should really eat something, the doctor said it’s important. You’re-”

“If you say I’m eating for two now one more time, I’m going to murder you,” Isak said dryly, not opening his eyes. 

Even tried, again, not to laugh, because Isak had not appreciated getting laughed at recently, so he only kissed the back of his head again and moved to stand. “Neii,” Isak whined. “Please, Even, can we just stay in bed today? My back hurts and I feel queasy and…” he didn’t seem to have any other reasons, so the blond boy just pouted and buried his face in their pillows. Even’s heart clenched up as he walked around to crouch in front of the smaller boy because he’d always been shit at saying no to Isak, especially in the last couple of months, but they really did need to see Eskild, because Isak had been very clear in wanting to tell his guru before the rest of their friends (the ones that didn’t know already, that is.) 

“Issy,” he said, brushing back some of the younger boy’s hair. “Come on, you know Eskild will be mad if we blow him off.”

“But…” Isak sniffed, curling deeper into the bed. He felt himself starting to tear up- something that still felt weird and uncalled for but he couldn’t control it, okay? Plus, it really helped when he was trying to get his way with Even. “But I’m so tired, Evy, and I feel so sick all the time. Please don’t make me go out, baby.” He blinked big, wet eyes at the older boy and watched as Even’s resolve began to crumble. 

“Isak,” the older boy sighed. He seemed to mull over his options for a moment before saying, “Would it be okay if he came here? You wouldn’t even have to get out of bed.”

Hearing this solution, Isak smiled. “Yeah, I guess that would be okay,” he said. “You’re so smart, you know that?”

Laughing, Even leaned forward and ghosted his lips against Isak’s cheek before standing and walking to the kitchen. “What are you in the mood for?”

“Ugh, nothing,” Isak groaned, flopping onto his back. “In every stereotypical pregnancy, they get super hungry all the time, even if they’re sick, but of course I got stuck with the no appetite type of pregnancy.”

“The doctor said you’ll feel better soon.”

“The doctor,” Isak scoffed. “I know just as well as she does. If we had all the equiptment, I could just be taking care of myself.”

“You are just a student, baby. She’s a professional,” Even reminded him, making some toast. 

“Don’t be mean,” Isak replied crossly, resting both hands on top of his belly. 

“I’m not trying to be mean, angel, I’m just looking out for you,” Even replied. He looked over and smiled at seeing the current position Isak was in. Right now, his curve stuck out about three inches from his hips at it's roundest point, relatively noticeable under any tshirt. If their friends had noticed, though, they didn’t mention it. They probably thought he was just gaining weight and didn’t want to be rude or anything. 

“Speaking of that doctor, didn’t she say I shouldn’t be getting so sick after the first trimester? I’m still throwing up pretty much every day, Even. My throat fucking hurts,” the curly haired boy said from the bed after a brief silence. 

“You started your second trimester two days ago, love,” Even replied. 

“Whatever. It fucking sucks. You don’t get it.”

“I know, Issy, but it’ll be better soon. Promise.”

Harrumphing, Isak lazily rubbed his belly. Despite being grumpy more often, he’d found this pregnancy, so far, to be sort of blissful. He’d been freaking out at first, and the thought of people knowing still made him beyond anxious, but there was something about it that just… 

Maybe it was Even. Things between them had been better than ever. Isak didn’t think he could fall more in love with Even, but boy had he been wrong. With this life that they’d created growing inside him, he was so full of love for the older boy he thought he could burst. And there was just such a calm feeling inside him all the time. That feeling of not being alone had never really gone away, either. There was always this warm, precious presence with him now, even when Even went to the store or something. He was just… happy. 

“Hey, baby?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m gonna text Eskild, okay?”

Smiling, Isak nodded, and Even pulled out his phone. 

Even: Hey Eskild, could you actually come here today? Isak isn’t feeling so great and doesn’t really want to get out of bed

Eskild responded quickly. 

Eskild: Is he okay? I don’t have to come by if he’s sick

Even: No, no, he’s fine, he’s just tired and a little moody.

Eskild: haha, ok, although I think you spoil him

Even: I do<3

Even: When will you be here?

Eskild: I can come around now if that’s ok

Even: perfect

“Eskild will be here in ten minutes, Isak, do you want to get dressed?” Even asked, putting the toast on a plate and walking back over to the bed. Isak groaned. 

“Fuck, do I have to?”

“Shouldn’t you at least put on a shirt? Unless you want him to know right away,” Even replied, and immediately Isak glared at him. 

“Are you saying I look fat?”

“What? No,” Even shook his head. “I’m saying you look three months pregnant and beautiful and like you’re making our baby.” Isak softened at this, taking one of Even’s hands. 

“Fine, get me a shirt, then.”

Smiling, Even stood and grabbed a tshirt from their drawers, one of his that was pretty baggy, and threw it over to the smaller boy, who put it on with a few grumbles. “Here, try to eat,” Even encouraged, handing him the plate. Isak huffed and tentatively took a bite. After he’d finished half a slice, he put the plate on the ground and took out his phone, opening some silly game. Soon enough, Eskild arrived. 

“Halla, boys,” they heard as he walked in the front door. 

“Hei, Eskild, we’re in here,” Even called back. Their flat was bigger than their first one, with an actual living room, kitchen and bedroom, all with walls dividing them. Even knew they’d have to find an even bigger place soon, though, with the new addition to their family coming. 

“Ugh, you couldn’t even put on pants, baby Jesus?” Eskild asked as he walked in and spotted Isak sitting upright in bed in his tshirt and boxers. 

“Hi to you to,” Isak said. “How are you?”

“I’m good!” Eskild replied brightly, jumping on to the bed next to Isak, jostling it. This made Isak frown and he instinctively brought his hand to his stomach. Even walked over and leaned down to press a soft kiss to his forehead, earning a glowing smile. They held eye contact for a few moments as Eskild watched with narrow eyes before clearing his throat. 

“So, are you going to tell me why I’ve been invited into your little lovenest?” he asked. Isak huffed and turned to smile at him. 

“Be patient, won’t you?”

“Nei! This is all very cryptic! I’m half sure you’re going to murder me, sending me a ‘we need to talk’ text and then being all weird. Or maybe you’re going to break up with me.”

Rolling his eyes, Isak went to speak, but then he was scrambling to stand and rushing towards the bathroom. Even followed quickly and Eskild sat in confusion until he heard retching, at which point he also stood, finding Isak kneeling over the toilet and Even rubbing his back gently. “You’re doing so well, angel, get it all out,” the older boy murmured softly. 

“I’m not ‘doing’ anything, Even, my fucking stomach is trying to kill me! I told you I wasn’t fucking hungry but you made me eat anyway! Fuck you, Jesus Fuck-” Isak gasped as he started to throw up again. 

“I know, you’re right, I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Even said, and by this point Eskild was confused out of his mind. Once Isak stopped being sick, he looked between the boys. 

“Um, hallo? What’s going on? Is Isak dying? Oh, god, is that why you called me over?”

“I’m not dying, Eskild,” Isak replied, standing and brushing Even’s hand away when it was offered. “I’m pregnant.”

“You… WHAT?!” Eskild shouted, making Isak flinch and Even put one finger to his mouth. “Oh, sorry, sorry. But you… you’re… I’m going to be a grandpa?!”

Isak snorted, curling back up in bed. “I guess you could say that. A grandpa at twenty-three, who would’ve guessed?”

“Oh my god! This is so exciting! Oh, god, this baby is going to be gorgeous! Who have you told? How far along are you? Oh my god, this is the best thing that’s ever happened!” Eskild rambled. He got back into bed beside Isak, and Even followed suit, leaning against the headboard and pulling the younger boy into his lap. 

“Um, three months, and I’ve only told Jonas, Eva, and Sana,” Isak replied. “Actually, I didn’t really tell Sana, she just figured it out.”

“So I was third on your list?!” Eskild asked, beyond delighted. Isak nodded solemnly. 

“Ja. I wanted to make sure you didn’t hear it from anybody else.”

“Oh my god, can I tell Linn? Please? It will kill me if I don’t.”

“Sure, tell Linn. I didn’t think I could tell one of you and not the other, anyway.”

“Oh my god, should be facetime? Can you facetime?”

Isak scrunched up his nose. “Can I facetime?”

“I mean, like, are you in the mood? I know you’ll be very moody now that you’re all knocked up.”

Even had to roll his eyes because he knew that one of two things was about to happen; Isak would get angry or he would- 

“I can’t believe you’d fucking say that to me,” the younger boy said, tears immediately spilling onto his cheeks. “Even keeps saying I’m fine but I knew he was lying, I’m being a total asshole aren’t I? I’m being a moody bitch and everyone’s going to hate me.” Eskild was stunned. 

“Shhh, angel, there’s nothing wrong with you, okay? Right, Eskild? He was just kidding, Issy,” Even soothed, shooting Eskild a look. The ginger blinked a few times before nodding rapidly. 

“Oh, of course! Isak! You know I would never- you’re not being moody at all! I was just kidding! You know me, always with the jokes, ha-ha! You’re being perfectly normal. I mean, if you were being moody… wouldn’t I have guessed you’re pregnant a long time ago? I have seen you in the last three months and you haven’t been acting any different,” Eskild lied. Isak had been being way more emotional than usual the past couple times he’d seen the boy, but Eskild had brushed it off as Isak’s usual grumpiness amped up by college stress. It didn’t matter that he was lying, though, because Isak was wiping his face and sniffling. 

“Really?”

“Um, ja? Of course!”

“Okay,” Isak mumbled, pulling Even’s arms tighter around him. “Okay, you can facetime Linn.”

Eskild had forgotten about the original plan, so he only stared blankly for a beat before nodding and grabbing his phone. He quickly found Linn’s contact and pressed facetime. 

She answered after a few rings. “Eskild, why are you facetiming me from the other room?” Her voice was scratchy and she was clearly still in bed. 

“I’m not at the kollectiv, silly, I’m at Isak and Even’s.” He turned the phone so that the two boys were in the frame, Isak still resting contently in Even’s lap. “Say halla, boys!”

“Halla,” the chorused. Linn squinted through the screen. 

“Halla,” she said back flatly. “Now, why are you calling, Eskild?”

“They have news!” Eskild replied excitedly. “Unless you don’t want to hear it, Linn. Then you can go back to sleep if you want.”

Huffing, Linn looked between the three of them. “What news?” she asked. 

“Isak, show her,” Eskild ordered. Isak narrowed his eyes. 

“Show her?” 

“Yeah, you know,” Eskild gestured to Isak’s belly with his head. The younger boy rolled his eyes but pulled up his shirt anyway. “Ta-da!” Eskild said, holding the camera over it. “Oh, wow, I haven’t seen it yet. It’s so big!”

Even tensed up, bringing his hands over Isak’s, which were already his stomach, and mumbling, “Beautiful, fucking beautiful,” in his ear. 

Linn seemed to be a little lost. “Are you guys pregnant?” she finally asked.

“Yes! Isn’t this the most exciting thing that’s ever happened! Linn, it’s like we’re going to be grandparents!”

At this, Linn let out a quiet giggle. “You’re really having a baby?”

“Ja, obviously they’re really having a baby! They’re three months along, can you believe that? And we never even noticed,” Eskild said, talking too quickly. Isak sighed and shut his eyes, shifting so that he was more lying than sitting on top of Even. 

“Are you tired, baby?” Even murmured, stroking his hair idely. 

“Always tired,” Isak replied. Jesus, he hadn’t even been awake for an hour yet. Thank god it was a Saturday, he never could’ve made it through class like this. 

“Alright, Linn, I’ll let you go back to sleep. We can talk about this later. Don’t tell anyone. Bye-bye!” With that, Eskild hung up the phone, dropping it to his side. “So,” he said, turning back to the boys. “What’s it like?! Is it magical?!”

“The most magical thing in the world,” Even replied brightly. “Fuck, it’s so crazy.”

Squealing, Eskild brought his hands to his face. “That’s so amazing! Oh gosh, I’m so excited!”

“Can you go to the living room, please?” Isak muttered from where he was half asleep. Even smiled and shifted out from under him, pressing a few quick kisses to the side of his face before tucking him back in and gesturing for Eskild to follow him to their living room. 

“What time did he get up?” Eskild asked as they sat on the couch. 

“Around ten.”

“It’s barely eleven!”

Shrugging, Even grinned. Eskild sighed. “Oh my god, you’re so in love! Can you even believe this is real?”

Even laughed. “Not really, no.”

“Aren’t you a little bit worried, though? You’re both so young.”

“Yeah. Yeah, Isak is pretty worried. I am, too, but I’m just so ecstatic, I can’t even think about anything else. Not that he’s not happy. He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him, although you wouldn’t guess by how often he cries.”

“Um, ja?! I had no idea he would cry so easily!”

“It’s not your fault,” Even laughed. “Last week I came home to him sobbing in the middle of our bed because he had a stretch mark on his belly, which turns out was just an old scar he’d forgotten about anyway.”

“Jesus,” Eskild said. “How are you surviving?”

“It’s the best,” Even shook his head dreamily. “Every little thing like that just makes it more real, you know?”

“Oh my god, that’s so fucking adorable. When are you gonna tell everyone else?”

“It’s all up to him,” Even shrugged. “I mean, he’s been so nervous about telling people. He thinks they’ll think it’s weird or gross or something.”

“Oh, please, your friends won’t care! They’ll be so excited! And male pregnancies have been around forever! My dad had me!”

Blinking, Even tilted his head. “Really?”

“Yeah, artificial insemination. He wanted a baby but he wasn’t in a relationship, so…” Eskild gestured up and down to himself. 

Even nodded. “Hmm. Maybe tell that to Isak at some point. It might make him feel better.”

“Yeah, definitively,” Eskild nodded. They chatted a bit more, until Eskild had to leave for work. “Should I say bye to him?” he asked, peeking into the bedroom towards Isak. 

“Nei, he’ll kill you if you wake him up,” Even replied. “I’ll tell him you had to go, he won’t mind.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah, trust me.” 

“Okay. Well, it was fun. I can’t believe you’re having a baby. 

“Me neither,” Even said. 

After Eskild was gone, Even began to tidy up around the apartment. He made himself something for lunch and, by one in the afternoon, he decided to wake up Isak. Jonas was planning on coming over soon, maybe with Eva. 

"Baby," he said, sitting at the edge of the bed. Isak moaned softly, shifting towards Even. "You gotta get up. Jonas will be here soon." 

Isak blinked open his eyes and made grabby hands towards Even's face. The older boy complied, leaning down for a kiss. Isak quickly wrapped both arms around his neck, tugging so that Even climbed to straddle him and then breaking the kiss to shift his head to the right before going back in, all tongue and gentle whimpers. "Fuck, Issy, we can't do that now," Even said, pulling away. Isak chased after his mouth. "Eva and Jonas will be here in half an hour." 

Making a soft, almost pathetic noise, Isak ground into Even's thigh, showing off his hard on and making the older boy wonder about what kind of dreams he'd been having. This was happening a lot lately, Isak being unsustainable in bed. If he wasn't asleep there was a good chance he was turned on. The doctor said it would probably continue like this for a while. 

"Is..." Even trailed, feeling his own dick perk up.

"Please, Evy? Need you so bad, I’m so horny all the time, so hard," Isak begged pitifully. Even sighed. 

"They'll be here soon, though," he argued weakly. Isak whimpered, wrapping both legs around Even's waist and grinding up hard. "Fuck," Even hissed before sitting up and taking off his shirt. 

Isak smiled, getting rid of his own shirt as well and, then, meeting Even again for a kiss, hungry and needy. “What type of dreams were you having, baby? Waking up hard like this?” Even asked. 

“Dreamed that you were in me, fucking me so good, making me cry from it,” Isak mumbled against the taller boy’s lips. Even panted, moving down Isak’s jaw and onto his neck, sucking a dark hickey on his collarbone. 

“Mm, fuck,” Isak whined, fingers threaded through Even’s hair. He wasn’t doing much, which was also more of a trend recently; Isak just liked sitting there and feeling everything. And, boy, was he feeling it. His nipples had become hypersensitive and his whole body was more reactive than ever. 

“Can you be quick for me, angel?” Even murmured against Isak’s chest, taking one nipple into his mouth, making Isak’s whole body jolt upwards. 

“Y-yeah,” the smaller boy managed after a minute, and Even smiled, continuing with his slow, gentle descent. Although Isak had been insisting that he was absolutely fine, Even refused to go rough with him. 

“Good, so good for me,” Even praised, before removing Isak’s boxers. 

 

When Jonas knocked on their door, Isak was still naked, that happy, fucked out look on his face and Even was sweaty and his hair was a mess and, oh, he was naked, too. "Shit," he mumbled, rushing to stand, which drew a whine out of Isak. "They're here, baby, we gotta get dressed." Even hurriedly pulled on his pants and tshirt, or, fuck, was this the one Isak had been wearing? He only saw one shirt lying around anyway, so he grabbed another out of their drawer and tossed it, along with a pair of basketball shorts, towards the younger boy. 

“Ev, this is too small!” Isak said as Even rushed to their bathroom, splashing some water over his face and then pushing back his hair. Isak huffed from their bedroom and got up, walking over towards the dresser and trying to find a shirt. 

Finally, Even got to the door and opened it. “Hei!” he said cheerfully to Eva and Jonas, who were loitering on the matt. 

“Hei,” Jonas replied, and Eva gave a little wave. “How are you?” 

“Good, good, come in,” Even said, moving aside to let them pass. “Isak, come to the living room,” he shouted. 

They all heard the frustrated groan that came back from the bedroom but, nevertheless, Isak walked in and sat beside Even on the couch, curling into his side. 

“Halla,” he said. “How are things?”

“Good, how about for you?” 

“Great,” Even replied, smiling down at the boy tucked into his side. 

“So you told Eskild?” Jonas asked, putting one arm around Eva. 

“Yeah, he thinks he’s going to be a grandpa or something.”

Jonas and Eva didn’t stay for too long. Honestly, they were only stopping by because Eva insisted they be there every step of the way, so they left by dinnertime. 

“What do you want to do for dinner?” Even asked once they were gone. Isak, standing up from the couch and stretching, shook his head. 

“I don’t know. Whatever you want to make.”

“Hm, but I want you to chose,” Even hummed, coming up behind him from where he’d seen Jonas and Eva out. He wrapped both arms around Isak’s waist from behind, resting his hands over Isak’s belly. 

“I don’t care,” Isak laughed, putting his hands over Even’s. 

“Fine,” Even sighed, pressing soft kisses into the side of the smaller boy’s neck. “Do you want to go out?”

“Ughhh, not really?”

“Okay, do you want to lay down?”

Isak glared up over his shoulder. “I’m not disabled, Even, I can stay out of bed for more than three hours at a time. You know what? Let’s go out.” 

Even rolled his eyes- safely out of Isak’s view, of course. “We don’t have to go out if you don’t want to.”

“No, let’s go, I’ll get dressed.” Isak wiggled out of Even’s embrace and walked determinedly towards the bedroom. The older boy watched for a minute before following. He frowned at the sight of Isak taking a pair of skinny jeans out of their dresser. 

“Um, baby?”

“Hm?” 

Trying to think of an delicate way to say “you’re too big for those jeans,” Even stood quiety. Isak looked up at him. 

“What, Even?”

“I just… aren’t those going to be a little… small?”

Frowning, Isak looked down at the jeans in his hand. “These are my only nice jeans,” he said. 

“Yeah, baby, but you’re a little bigger than last time you wore them,” Even said cautiously. 

“Well what else am I supposed to wear?” Isak asked, dropping the jeans to the ground and looking at Even as if he had all the answers in the world. 

“Sweatpants?” Even suggested. 

“I don’t want to look ugly for the next six months!” Isak complained, sitting back on their bed and crossing his arms. Even walked over, sitting beside him and putting one arm around his narrow shoulders. 

“You won’t, Issy. You don’t,” he assured the younger boy. “Do you really want to go out? I can easily make something. Plus it’ll save money.”

Relaxing slightly, Isak shrugged. “I just, like… it’s only been three months. I don’t wanna be homebound already.”

“You’re not, angel. You’re just tired today, okay? Why don’t I make something nice for us for dinner, and then we can watch a movie?”

“Okay,” Isak nodded. Even kissed the side of his head they both got up, moving to the kitchen, where Isak settled into a koala hug on Even’s back, sighing sleepily every few minutes. 

“Here,” Even instructed once he had to start moving around, and he helped Isak maneuver up onto the counter. The younger boy watched Even move around the kitchen lazily, both hands resting over his stomach. 

Once the food was in the oven, Even walked back over and leaned between Isak’s legs. “Let me see,” he said softly, and, with a fond roll of his eyes, the smaller boy tugged up his shirt. Even beamed. 

“Hi,” he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to Isak’s belly. “Hi, little one.”

“Even,” Isak mumbled, looking down with hazy eyes. Even stood straight, finding Isak’s lips and gently kissing him. 

“I love you,” he said after pulling away. He rested his forehead against the green eyed boy’s, and Isak hummed. 

“I love you, too.”

After a while, the oven dinged and Even had to get out their food. Isak hopped off of the counter and walked to their bed, one hand pressed to his lower back, and Even chose not to comment on that fact that he’d been very put off by the idea of eating in bed a while earlier. They ate pretty quickly and ended up missing most of the movie, instead opting to lazily make out with each other until Isak was squirming for more and Even had to give it to him. 

Later, when it was completely dark out, the two boys were spooning, and both of their hands were resting, as usual, over Isak’s midsection. “Hm, so warm, baby,” Even murmured. 

“Yeah,” Isak agreed, lacing their fingers together. “It’s going to get bigger, soon, too.”

“So fucking beautiful.”

“Who should we tell next?”

“The boys? I’m sure they’ll be upset if we don’t tell them soon.”

“Yeah. Can we do that tomorrow?”

Smiling, Even pressed a kiss into the back of Isak’s neck. “Whatever you want, angel.”


	3. Three

Chapter 3

When Isak woke up, Even was at work. This immediately put him in a bad mood, and he spent a while laying in bed, willing himself back to sleep. But it was too bright and he wasn’t tired for once, so he sat up and stretched before looking around for his phone. When he found it, he grinned, seeing that he had several new messages from Even. 

Even: Good morning, baby<3

Even: I love you so much

Even: I’ll be back by one, then we’re gonna go see the boys, so try to get dressed before then

Even: say good morning to the little one for me

Smiling, Isak started to reply. 

Isak: Haha, you’re so cute<3 love you too. I’ll be dressed by then

Even was working, so he probably wouldn’t see Isak’s message for a bit. Sighing, the blond boy looked down at his stomach. He was now fourteen weeks along, and it was getting harder to ignore the growing curve of his midsection. “Hei,” Isak whispered, putting both hands over the curve. “Good morning. Pappa says good morning, too.”

Obviously there was no reply, so Isak just took a deep breath and looked up towards the ceiling, wondering what on earth he was doing, while, at the same time, feeling immeasurably happy. After resting a bit more, he stood up and made himself toast with an egg. His morning sickness had gone mostly away over the last couple of weeks, but his appetite still wasn’t very strong. He tried to eat as much as he could, though, terrified to underfeed the baby. The baby- Even had taken to calling him or her “little one,” but they didn’t have a real name picked out yet. They didn’t even know the gender, so how could they? Isak rarely referred to him or her as anything. In the first ultrasound, the baby had looked kind of like a peanut, so Isak had secretly been using that nickname, but rarely out loud. 

After getting his lunch ready, he sat down and turned on their TV to something stupid, occasionally flipping the channel. He was a bit nervous to see the boys. The last time he’d seen Mahdi and Magnus had been at about two months, and he was definitely much bigger now than he was back then. They kept meaning to get together, but someone was always busy and now… they were bound to notice something. 

His phone buzzed and he grabbed it, seeing that he’d gotten a response from Even. 

Even: good morning!! How do you feel

Isak: fine, a little sore

Isak: a little nervous

Even: don’t be nervous, bby, the boys will be so excited!

Isak: idk

Isak: I mean what if they think it’s weird

Isak: or like, what if they stop hanging around

Isak: I’ll be a killjoy if we go out from now on

Isak: plus we’ll get all those weird looks

Even: stop it:( you’re so beautiful and amazing sweetie, anyone who looks at you weird is an asshole. Plus the boys will be nothing but supportive, just like when you came out, ok?

Even: I love you so so much, and they do too

Isak: but it’s different now. Before nobody could see it just by looking at me

Even: Isak, nobody is going to judge you. I think the boys would be a little hurt that you think this way about them

Isak: it’s not them it’s just

Isak: idk

Isak: everyone i guess

Isak: I’m just freaked out by the whole idea

Even: you are making life! That’s the most amazing thing ever! Don’t be freaked out, angel. I know you can’t help it but try to listen to me when I say there’s nothing wrong with you and everyone you love it going to be so happy for us. Anyone who thinks this is “weird” is so fucking ugly and you should never have to deal with their negativity

Isak: ok

Isak: I love you so much evy

Even: I love you too<3 

Even: when I get home I’ll give you the biggest hug and make sure you feel better 

Even: but I won’t hug too tight

Even: don’t want to hurt you or the baby<3

Even: that you’re growing inside of you. Amazingly

Isak: haha, you’re such a sap

Isak: you won’t hurt either of us

Even: ok<3 see you soon my love

Isak: see you soon<3

 

Isak put his phone back down, smiling. Even always knew how to make him feel better, even when he wasn’t even there. Instead of getting dressed, the blond boy got back in bed and pulled the blankets up around him. “How are you doing in there?” he asked softly, looking down at his stomach. “You better be really cute when you get here, what with all the trouble you’re giving me. You’re tiring me out and you not even really alive yet.”

Huffing out a soft breath, he rubbed gentle circles over the bump. “It’s okay, though, because pappa and I already love you so much. Pappa is going to spoil you so badly. He’s going to love you so much he won’t know what to do with himself. I will, too, I’m just less dramatic. No matter what Jonas tells you.

“You’re going to get a lot bigger. That won’t be very fun for me. At least I’ll get pappa to do everything for me, then. He spoils me, too, peanut. It’s just how he is.”

Leaning back in bed, Isak looked up to the ceiling. It was almost eleven, which meant he had two hours to wait until Even got back from work. He was bored. He almost wished he had class or something to keep him busy. Almost. 

Instead, he did the second best thing. He texted Sana. 

Isak: Sanaaaa

Sana: Hei Isak

Sana: Do you need something?

Isak: nope

Isak: I’m bored

Sana: haha, I thought you’d have plenty to keep you busy

Isak: Even is at work and I’m here all alone

Sana: Can’t relate 

She’d attached a picture of Yousef cooking in their kitchen. Isak smiled. 

Isak: ugh i miss MY master chef boyfriend

Sana: do not call yousef a master chef, I’ll never hear the end of it

Isak: it’s okay, he’s not as good as Even anyway

Sana: oh please

Sana: just kidding, I love Even, I can’t even try to argue against him

Isak: haha, I love him too

Sana: mmhmm, you’ve both made that pretty clear over the years

Isak: can’t help it<3

Isak: anyway, stop mocking me with pictures of yousef and be entertaining

Sana: fine fine

Sana: give me baby updates

Isak: so we can geek out over the science?

Sana: haha, or just because I’m interested

Isak: that too

Isak: okay, I’m finally not throwing up every morning, but I’m still not very hungry. And I’m getting bigger. And I’m tired all the time. But you know that

Sana: haha, yes, you’re glad you only fell asleep in a lecture

Sana: when are you going to tell your professeurs?

Isak: ughhh I don’t know… I guess at like six months right? Isn’t that what most people do?

Sana: I don’t think most people have a baby during uni

Isak: whatever

Sana: haha, you’ll be fine though

Isak: maybe I just won’t tell them… the babys due in summer anyway. I’ve been thinking of taking second semester off anyway

Sana: really?

Sana: That’s kind of a big step

Isak: Yeah, I just don’t think I’ll be in a good headspace for learning shit after january. I’m already falling asleep during lectures

Sana: that’s true

Sana: what about next year?

Isak: I’ll probably just start by taking fewer classes at the beginning of the year, then I can get back on track fully by second semester

Sana: hmm

Sana: sounds like a plan

Isak: yep

Sana: Okay bud, I gotta go eat 

Sana: with my master chef boyfriend

Isak: you’re a bully:(

Sana: haha, Even will be home soon

Isak: yeah yeah

Isak: talk to you later 

Sana: see you Isak

After staring mournfully at the end of his conversation for a beat, Isak dropped his phone and grabbed his laptop, opening it up to do some work. 

By noon, he was completely restless and stir crazy. Plus a little horny. Not a great combination. He wanted to call Even but he would be home in an hour and he also wanted to prove that he could go a few hours without being a needy, clingy little baby. 

Instead of calling Even, he passed the time reading, playing video games, and just lying around, until, finally, he heard the front door unlock and got out of bed, walking to the door. “Isak,” Even called, kicking off his shoes, oblivious to the fact that Isak was leaning against the doorway of their foyer. 

“Hei,” the smaller boy said, and Even looked up in surprise, smiling as soon as his eyes landed on Isak. 

“Halla, baby,” Even said, walking over and wrapping both arms around Isak’s waist, dipping down to press a kiss to his boy’s waiting mouth. “Missed you at work today,” he mumbled in between pecks. 

“Mmhmm. Missed you, too.”

“How are you feeling?” 

“Okay. I got some work done.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Yeah, just some egg and toast, though,” Isak replied, now leaning against the wall with both hands around Even’s neck. 

“Okay. We should have lunch, then, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Isak nodded. Even smiled brightly and pulled him close, losing himself in the smell of Isak’s hair. 

“Are you still nervous?” he asked quietly. Isak sighed. 

“I don’t know. It’s not them, really, it’s more me.”

“Hmm. Try to relax baby, okay? I promise everything is going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”

Isak shrugged, making Even pout. “Come on,” the taller boy said softly, “let’s go lay down.”

“But we have to leave soon.”

“But I haven’t seen you all day and I want to cuddle.”

Rolling his eyes fondly, Isak let himself be dragged to bed, curling up on Even’s chest. “How was the baby?”

“Fine. Normal. Nothing new.”

“When will you be able to feel them move?” Even asked, rubbing soft circles over Isak’s belly. 

“Not until at least four months. Probably not until more like six.”

“What about me?” 

“Not until a while after I can.”

“Hmm. I can’t wait.”

Curling in slightly closer, Isak threaded his fingers through Even’s. “Me neither. Whenever I talk to them, I always-”

“You talk to them?” Even interrupted, looking down with raised eyebrows. Isak flushed. 

“Well… yeah. I mean… when you’re not home and stuff.”

Even’s eyes were intense as he asked, “What do you talk about?”

Blushing even redder, Isak shrugged. “I don’t know… you? Us? Everything? Studied say its good for the fetus to hear your voice.”

Licking his lips, Even glanced down. “Could I… talk to them?”

Isak bit his lower lip. “Um… sure. I don’t know what you’ll say, though. It’ll just feel like you’re talking to me.”

Even shook his head ever so slightly. He wiggled out from under Isak, sitting the smaller boy up and then straddeling his knees. “Hei,” he whispered. “Hei, baby.”

He looked up at Isak almost nervously and the smaller boy tilted his head, smiling and nodding. Even took a breath and continued. “Me and your dada are so, so excited for you arrive, little one. We love you so much. Even if you make dada a little tired and sick.”

“A little,” Isak mumbled affectionately. 

“Mmhmm. We’re going to be so happy when you finally get here. Were pretty happy now, too, even though you’re very small.” 

“We’re gonna be late for the boys,” Isak reminded Even gently. 

Looking up, Even nodded once and pressed a few quick kisses all over Isak’s body. “Come on,” he said, “let’s get dressed.”

 

By the time they were all piled into Magnus house, Isak was more nervous than ever. His heart was in his throat and he was actually sweating. “Fuck. Fuck, we should go home.”

“Baby, we can’t go home, we literally just rang the doorbell.”

“I know, but- but I feel sick and I-” Isak stammered, blinking too quickly, eyes wet. 

Even frowned, putting both hands on his face. “Listen to me. It’s okay. It’s all going to be fine. I promise.”

“But- but it’s so fucking weird, Even.”

“Nei. Nei, it’s not. We don’t think so, they won’t think so either.” He pressed a light kiss to the smaller boy’s mouth and that’s when Magnus chose to open the door. 

“Evak stronger than ever!” he hooted, and they heard Mahdi chuckle from inside.

Even laughed, turning to hug Magnus. “Hey, man,” said Mags. “It’s been forever!”

“Ja, I know,” Even said, letting go and moving inside. 

Magnus then went and pulled Isak into a tight hug, but pulled back abruptly and said, “Woah, dude, have you gained weight?”

Mahdi, Jonas and Even groaned- Magnus’s filter had apparently not improved anytime recently- and Isak, already on edge, felt himself almost start to cry. Magnus apparently noticed this, because his face went pale and he looked around between everyone. “Oh, shit, I didn’t mean to be rude, I just-”

“Oh god, Maggie, way to start off this party with a bang,” Mahdi laughed. Isak discreetly tried to settle down before they noticed that he was actually all teary, feeling slightly better when Even came up behind him and settled one arm around his waist, pressing a soft kiss into his neck.

“Fuck me, man, I’m sorry,” Magnus said, shaking his head. 

“It’s fine,” Isak replied, and he knew this would be a perfect moment to say it, but instead he tensed up and asked, “So, how’s everyone been?”

“I’ve been great!” Magnus bubbled, back to his usual happy self. “Come on, you guys can sit down,” he gestured to the old, threadbare couch and the few chairs that had been pulled up around it. “I’ll get beer.”

The got comfy on the couch, Even leaning against one side with his other arm protectively around Isak’s shoulders. The smaller boy leaned into him, holding onto his hand with his brows anxiously drawn in and his jaw clenched. Even wanted to make all those nerves disappear, make it so Isak never had to stress again, but he knew that he couldn’t.

“So, what’s up with you guys? Everything going good?” Mahdi asked, opening one of the beers Magnus had brought in. The blond boy offered some to Isak, who looked up with worried eyes and shook his head slightly. 

“Bro?” Magnus questioned, clearly confused. Isak flushed. 

“Just not in the mood.”

“Me neither,” Even cut in, firmly shaking his head. Magnus seemed to get the message and sat down. “Anyway, Mahdi, everything’s great,” Even continued, looking at Isak and nosing at his cheek, drawing a timid smile out of the smaller boy. 

“Evak forever,” Magnus said absentmindedly. “Did anyone hear about Julian Dahl?” 

“No, what about him?” asked Jonas.

“Well apparently he got, like, super rich. Like, even more than before, and…” Isak zoned out, instead focusing on Even’s hand in his own. He had no idea how he was supposed to do this. 

“It’s gonna be okay, baby, promise,” Even whispered into his hair. 

“Can you do it?” Isak whispered back, voice a little squeaky. 

“Of course,” Even replied, “whatever you need.”

He waited until the conversation had died down before clearing his throat. “So, guys,” he said, “we have some news.”

Jonas nodded. He’d been wondering when they were gonna bring it up. Magnus and Mahdi settled down and started to listen attentively. Even looked to Isak, who was bright red and staring at the floor, before saying, “We’re having a baby.”

“What?!” Magnus squawked, voice going up three octaves. “You what?!??”

“Bro!” Mahdi exclaimed, putting down his beer. 

Isak bit his lower lip, taking a few quick breaths. Even pressed gentle circles into his back. “Yep. In about five and half months.”

“Dude, are you kidding?! Oh my god, fuck, this is amazing!” Magnus rambled, excitedly bringing both hands to his face. “Fuck, is it a boy or a girl?”

“We don’t know yet,” Even shook his head. 

“Oh- oh fuck! Is that why you- ohhhh, oh my god! We’re so stupid!” Magnus continued. “That’s why you’re not drinking and shit!”

“We totally gotta, like, teach it shit, right?” asked Mahdi. “I mean, like, somebody has to teach it how to be cool.”

Even gasped in offense. “We’re gonna teach them how to be so cool! We’re the coolest, right, Issy?”

Smiling weakly, Isak nodded and sat up a little straighter. “The coolest.”

“Oh, shit, you knew, right?” Magnus suddenly asked Jonas, who laughed. 

“Of course I knew, man.”

“Who else knows?” asked Mahdi.

“Umm, I told Jonas and Eva overheard, Sana figured it out, and I told Eskild,” Isak answered, shrugging. 

“Faen, do we get to, like, throw a baby shower?” Magnus bubbled excitedly.

“A what?” laughed Isak, finally settling more comfortably into Even’s side. 

“A baby shower! You know, so you guys get a bunch of presents and shit! Oh god, who could host it?”

“Eva probably could,” Jonas shrugged. 

Isak was smiling now, though a little tentative, and he looked up adoringly at Even, who smiled back down with just as much love. “See? Everything’s fine,” the older boy said softly, ducking his head down to smatter a few kisses over Isak’s face and neck. He reached over with his far hand to rub warm circles over his stomach. 

“Oh SHIT this is so cute!” Magnus squeaked, making Isak blush again. Even laughed. 

 

By the time the boys parted ways, it was getting dark out and Isak was tired. “Come on, angel, we can get going now,” Even mumbled, standing him up. Lots of hugs were exchanged and then Isak and Even headed out. Isak nearly fell asleep on the tram, snuggled up to Even. 

“What should we do when we get home, baby?” Even asked. 

“Sleep,” Isak said grumpily. 

“It’s only seven,” Even laughed softly, and Isak pouted. 

“You try putting up with your back hurting and throwing up half your food and carrying around five extra pounds on your hips and-”   
“Shh,” Even said softly, “I know. We can sleep if you want.” 

Isak seemed to consider this. “Maybe we should eat dinner first,” he said. 

Chuckling quietly, Even squeezed his shoulder. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

Once they arrived at their stop, the boys headed upstairs quickly. “Ughh,” Isak groaned as he sat down on the bed. “Did you know I’m going to gain a pound per week from here on out?”

“A pound per week?” Even repeated back in surprise. 

“Yep. And it’s going to kill me.”

Even shook his head, walking to Isak and climbing over him. “You’re going to look so fucking good,” he said with a grin, and Isak snorted and Even, lowering himself down slightly to press a soft kiss to Isak’s waiting mouth. “What do you want for dinner?” he asked into the kiss. 

“Can we get pizza?” Isak asked cutely, smiling because he knew Even wasn’t going to say no. 

“Sure, baby,” the older boy. “I’ll order it now.” He hopped and grabbed his phone, and Isak had to think that, if he could get pretty much anything he wanted, this whole thing was even better.


	4. Four

Chapter 4

Isak was the worst fucking boyfriend in the entire fucking world.

He’d always known that Even was the BEST fucking boyfriend in the entire fucking world, too, so that just made him feel all the worse about this. 

It was almost Christmas. December 22nd, to be exact. And he hadn’t even THOUGHT about Even’s gift yet. 

It didn’t help that he’d just found the youtube video Even made him for his eighteenth birthday in his bookmarks. Even had probably had something planned out for Christmas for months and Isak hadn’t given it a single thought. 

Sitting in the middle of the bed, he tried to catch his breath, wiping at his face and attempting to calm down and stop crying. Thank god Even was at work, because if he was home Isak would have to explain what was wrong, and then he’d have to look his (perfect) boyfriend in the eye and explain that he hadn’t even considered his Christmas present. That he was supposed to give him in three days. 

Forcing himself to breathe, Isak stood up and paced around the flat. Okay. Three days. He could find a perfect gift in three days. He would absolutely find a perfect gift in three days, because Even deserved everything in the whole entire world and if Isak fucked up his Christmas present he could never forgive himself. 

Okay. Think. 

He couldn’t go with a cop out like art supplies or new editing software, something any of their friends could get him. He had to get something that could only come from him. 

Maybe I’ll just have the baby now, Isak thought, putting both hands over his stomach. He could feel his heartbeat in his throat and he almost started crying again because he if he was this fucking bad of a boyfriend, how could he expect to be a good father?

Bringing both hands to his face, he shook his head. Focus on Even. You can cry about your miserable parenting later. 

The baby. Even would love anything that had to do with the baby. Of course he would. But Isak couldn’t get baby clothes or supplies because that would basically be a “gift” to both of them. He considered framing the ultrasound, but that seemed to easy. Just buying a frame? Even would buy him the world if he could, Isak had to better than a frame. 

What’s the best gift anyone’s ever given anyone? Isak wondered, rubbing circles below his belly button. He was randomly struck with a memory of a gift his cousins had given one of his aunts when he was a kid. The aunt’s mom had died, so the cousins had gotten something she’d said in a home movie converted into a soundwave and engraved in a bracelet or something- all Isak had seen when he was little was a weird, squiggly line- but the aunt had loved it. 

Maybe he could do something like that. Maybe he could get him saying I love you turned into a soundwave and make a bracelet out of that or something. That could be good, right?

Okay. Okay, an “I love you” bracelet. That would be good. Even would like that. Maybe he’d even love it. 

Isak took out his phone to open his voice memos, wanting to get started right away. Jesus, he probably couldn’t even get it made in time. As he was about to click record, however, something caught his eye. 

The baby’s heartbeat. He’d taken a recording during his last appointment, so he and Even could listen to it anytime. 

If Even would like a bracelet of Isak saying I love you- which Isak could just say in person anytime- he would die over one with their baby’s in-utero heartbeat. 

That was perfect. 

He just had to figure out how to get it done. 

 

Turned out, it was a lot easier to get a ring. Apparently a trend had started of getting special soundwaves carved into wedding rings, so there were a few places near by that offered the service. 

It also turned out that it was expensive. Really expensive. Most of the rings they offered were pure silver, too, so that didn’t help the price much. “Uhmm…” Isak trailed, looking at the thick banded rings in the display case. “Don’t you have anything that won’t… cost as much?”

The salesman didn’t look impressed. His frown lines were so deep Isak wondered if he’d ever smiled at all. “Young man, this is a business we’re running here. We don’t sell personalized rings on the cheap.”

Nodding slightly, Isak continued to search for any ring in his price range. “May I ask, is this engagement or marriage?” the salesman said from behind him. Isak turned around. 

“Oh, um, neither. I, uh… I’m pregnant.” His whole face felt like it was on fire, and he expected those frown lines to deepen, but instead the salesman raised his eyebrows in surprise. “We’re in uni, so we don’t have much money. But I wanted to get the baby’s heartbeat on a ring… for Christmas.”

“Hmm,” the salesman- Daniel from the gold plated badge pinned to his suit jacket- hummed. “Hmm.”

“If it’s okay, I think I’ll go,” Isak said after a beat, disappointed and ashamed. He had a good idea, something that would actually make Even happy, but he still couldn’t make it happen. 

As he was about to leave, Daniel cleared his throat. “Young man,” he said, making Isak turn around. “Come here.”

Hesitantly, Isak followed him as he walked behind the glass case and into the back room. There were boxes upon boxes lined on the selves back here, each one labeled with a different type of metal, a different size. “Would you say your partner has large hands?” Daniel asked, heading towards the back of the room. 

“Um… yeah. Yeah, he does,” Isak trailed nervously. 

“Hmm,” the older man hummed again. He pulled out a bin from below a desk and began rifling through it. “And is he fond of platinum?”

Isak didn’t really have an answer to this. Was anyone fond of platinum? “I think he’d be happy no matter what it was made of,” the blond boy finally answered. 

“Hmm.” Daniel pulled out a thick ring in a light silver color. He held it to the light briefly before walking back past Isak and out into the main area of the store. Isak walked after him quickly. “It seems like today is your lucky day,” said Daniel. He set the ring down on the case and gestured Isak over to look. “We happened to have a runaway fiance situation a few months back. The rings had already been paid for, however, so they’ve just been sitting in the backroom. Unfortunately, they have been personalized, which is why they weren’t up for sale. If you’ll look here,” he held the ring up and showed Isak the inside, “you’ll see there’s a B embossed inside the band. Another new trend, carving each spouse’s initial inside of the other’s ring so that it becomes imprinted on their finger, as if they’ve been branded. I know it’s not ideal, but I’m sure you could come up with an explanation. Or simply tell him the truth. However you chose to explain the B, I’m offering you this ring for only four hundred kroner.”

Isak gaped at him before shaking his head quickly. “Yes! Of course, thank you!”

“Anything for an expecting parent. I have three children myself. One of my daughters,” he gave Isak a knowing smile, “happens to be expecting as of now.”

“Oh, um, congratulations!” 

Daniel nodded. “As for the engravement, I could have it done by tomorrow for an additional fifty kroner, assuming you want it in time for Christmas?”

“Yes, definitely.”

Nodding again, the older, white haired man walked to the computer. He gave Isak the side eye while typing something, eventually saying, “You are cutting it a little close, aren’t you?”

Flushing, Isak looked at his feet. “Honestly, it completely slipped my mind.”

“Hmm. That will happen. Don’t be too hard on yourself about it. In my opinion, this will make a spectacular gift. And I’m not just saying that because I’m receiving the commision.”

Laughing quietly, Isak nodded. “Thank you,” he said after a beat. 

And Isak might’ve imagined it, but he could swear Daniel winked in response. 

Hmm. Maybe those frown lines weren’t as telling as he’d thought.

 

When Even got home that night, he was exhausted. Half of his coworkers had gone home for Christmas, so he was picking up a lot of their shifts in a hope to get more in their savings account before the baby was born. 

“Issy?” he called, taking off his scarf and jacket. “Isak?”

“Halla,” Isak called back, and Even walked in to find him in the kitchen. 

“What are you doing?” Even asked amusedly, watching as Isak sat on the counter, eating a bowl of ice cream and playing on his phone. 

“Having a snack,” the younger boy replied before putting his phone down and hopping off, walking to Even and wrapping both arms around his waist, leaning his head against Even’s shoulder. Even smiled, pulling him closer and returning the hug, and taking a deep breath. Isak smelled like snow and ice cream and conditioner. 

“I love you,” Isak mumbled, pressing a soft kiss into the divet between Even’s neck and collarbone. “You know that, right?”

“Of course I know that, angel,” Even said back, pulling away slightly to look down at Isak. 

“But… I love you so much. So, so much, Evy. I mean… I just want you to know that.” 

Even stared at him for a beat before kissing his forehead and pulling him close again. “I know,” he whispered. “I know.”

They stood like that for a while longer until Even nudged Isak away. “I think your ice cream is melting,” he laughed softly, and Isak smiled up at him before pressing a quick kiss to his mouth. 

 

Later, when they were in bed and Isak was trying to find something to watch, propped up against Even’s chest, the older boy asked what Isak had done that day. 

“I went shopping,” Isak replied. 

“For what?” Even asked, and Isak looked up, smirking and raising his eyebrows. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he said sassily, making Even laugh and smatter kisses into the side of his face. 

They eventually chose something, but Isak fell asleep about twenty minutes in, and Even didn’t want the noise to disturb him, so he shut the laptop and pushed it aside. “Goodnight, baby,” he mumbled, shifting so that he could spoon Isak, and then rested both hands over his swelling stomach. “Goodnight, little one.”

 

Isak woke up the next day to Even peppering kisses on his shoulder. He smiled, eyes still shut, and threaded his fingers through the older boys. “Good morning, baby,” Even whispered as he started kissing up Isak’s neck.

“Good morning,” the younger boy whispered back, wiggling around so that they were facing each other. He slotted their legs together, looking up with a sleepy smile before burrowing his head into Even’s neck. 

“What do you want to do today?” asked Even, tucking his chin over Isak’s head. 

 

“Hmm, I have to go get something, but otherwise we can do whatever.”

“What do you have to get?” 

Even could feel Isak smile against his collarbone before he pressed a gentle kiss to it. “You’ll see.”

Huffing out a laugh, Even ran his fingers through the smaller boy’s hair. “All these secret outings. Should I be concerned?”

“Ja, I’m seeing my mistress, actually,” Isak replied. 

“Ja?”

“Ja, and she’s prettier than you.”

At this, Even made an offended noise and pulled away, forcing Isak to look up at him. “Serr?”

“Nei,” Isak replied, smiling. “Nei, nobody’s prettier than you.”

Humming, Even leaned forward and kissed his boy gently. “Love you, baby,” he mumbled. 

“Love you too.”

After a while longer in bed, they decided to get up and make breakfast. Isak was actually in the mood to help, rather than distract, so he moved around getting ingredients while Even actually cooked. 

“Oh my god, Magnus just texted us a draft of the guest list for the shower. So we can approve it. It’s only been a week since he found out,” Isak said as he leaned against the counter. “Fy faen, why is William on here?”

“Noora’s William?” Even asked, before adding, “Eggs, baby.”

Walking to the fridge, Isak pulled it open as he said, “Ja, Noora’s William. I don’t want that guy around.”

“Tell Magnus no then.”

Isak handed Even the eggs. “But I don’t want to be a dick. I mean, I hardly know the guy. I think Mags included everyone our friends are dating, Jesus. Have you ever even met Chris’s new boyfriend?”

Chuckling, Even shook his head. “Milk, please,” he said, and Isak absentmindedly walked back to the fridge as he kept scrolling through the list. 

“Do you want all these people there?” he asked. 

“I want whatever you want,” Even replied brightly, making Isak raise his eyebrows. 

“Oh, so if I said I don’t want the balloon boys there, you’d be fine with that?”

There was a beat of silence before Even rolled his eyes. “But you don’t want that,” he said. 

“Hmm. That’s true. I like your friends.”

“Why do you all call them the balloon boys anyway?”

“I don’t know, that’s what Vilde called them.”

“Huh. Can you grab the sour cream, please?”

Isak took it and handed it to Even. “So should I just say nobody’s partner? Unless they’re both friends with us?”

“Sure, sweetheart.”

“Okay.” Isak started typing, a minute later determinedly pressing send. “Done.”

“Good. Okay, this is ready.”

Nodding, Isak walked to their table and sat down. “Do you want cheese?” asked Even. 

“Yes please.”

Even got Isak’s favorite cheese and put some over his eggs, then did the same with his favorite on his eggs. Finally he sat down, putting down both their plates. They started to eat, casually discussing Magnus’s list. “Here, let me try yours,” Isak said, and Even fed him a bite from across the table. 

They continued like that, eating off of each other’s plates, and Even didn’t mention it, but by the end of the meal Isak had eaten most of both of their breakfasts. 

“What do you want to do now?” asked Even, standing and rinsing their plates. 

“Brush my teeth,” Isak replied, heading for the bathroom. After he was done with the dishes, Even followed. 

Soon, they were both brushed and back in the bedroom, Isak sitting on the bed and Even walking around, picking some clothes up off the floor. “You know, these probably aren’t the safest here,” he said, reaching beside their bed and lifting up one of their weights. “What if one of us fell out of bed?”

“We’re not four years old, Even,” Isak replied, lying back. Even smirked and started doing bicep curls, letting out comically loud grunts. Licking his lips, Isak watched with interest. After a few seconds of that, he crawled over and took the weight from the older boy’s hand and set it on the ground before reaching up and pulling Even down by the neck. 

“Stop being so sexy all the time,” he demanded, making Even laugh. 

“Can’t help it.”

Rolling his eyes fondly, Isak pulled so that Even climbed up on to the bed, lowering them both down and leaning in to lick inside Isak’s mouth. They made out for a while until Isak started squirm.

“What do you want, baby?” Even asked, pulling away to scatter kisses over Isak’s neck. 

“Mm, please, Evy,” Isak whined, threading his fingers through the older boy’s hair.

“Please what, angel?”

“Fuck me, please, I’ll be so good,” Isak replied. 

“So needy for me, so hard already,” Even mumbled. Isak nodded. 

“Always so hard, always turned on.” Okay, maybe he wasn’t always hard, but he was pretty much always turned on, at least to one degree or another. 

“I know, baby,” Even soothed. “Mm, so beautiful.”

 

By the time Isak was satisfied, it was nearing noon. He was shyly tucked into Even’s side, tracing tiny patterns on his stomach, when he suddenly bolted upright. “Shit, what’s the time?”

“Umm, 11:50,” Even replied, grabbing his phone. “Why?”

“I have to- I gotta go,” Isak replied, getting out of bed and looking around for his clothes. “I’ll be back soon, okay?” 

“Hmm, I wonder what you could be getting,” Even said teasingly, thinking about the upcoming holiday. Isak rolled his eyes with a smile and threw a shirt at the older boy’s face. Once he was dressed, he walked over and gave Even a quick peck. 

“See you soon,” he mumbled before standing. “Love you.”

“I love you too, baby,” Even replied, still naked and in bed. He watched as Isak left, grabbing his keys before walking out the door. Once he was gone, the older boy picked up his phone again and opening his conversation with his mom. 

Even: Hei mama

Even: We’re still having dinner tomorrow, right?

Mama: Hello my love<3

Mama: Of course! 

Mama: We’re so excited to see you and Isak

Even: we’re excited to see you too<3

Mama: What are you two doing for Christmas?

Even: We’re seeing Isak’s mom at some point, otherwise just hanging around

Even: Some friends will probably stop by

Mama: Okay honey 

Mama: See you soon

Even: See you soon mama 

 

Although nervous about telling his parents, Even was confident it would go well. Deciding that it might be a good idea to clean up a little before they were living in a literal junkyard, the blond boy got up, pulled on some pants, and started to make the flat a little tider. 

By the time Isak got back, it was relatively clean. “Halla,” the younger boy called, kicking off his shoes. 

“Hei, baby,” Even replied from bed. “Come here,” he said as Isak walked into the bedroom. Isak did as he said, sitting down on the bed beside him. “Will you do something for me?” He’d gotten an idea while Isak was out. 

“What?” Isak asked, leaning over to give Even a kiss. The older boy ran one thumb over his cheek before leaning away again. 

“Can I draw you?”

Isak flushed, rolling his eyes embarrassedly. “Ev,” he mumbled, looking down. 

“Please? I want… I want to…” Even struggled to find the words. “You’re so beautiful. And you… you’re… I want to capture this.”

Sighing, Isak looked at Even. He wrung the hem of his shirt in his hands before nervously removing it. Even smiled, standing to grab his sketch book. “Just relax, baby, get comfortable.”

Nodding and taking a deep breath, Isak leaned back on his palms. Even sat down again with his best set of pencils and a fresh sheet of paper. “We can talk baby,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be silent.”

Isak fidgeted. “I don’t know what to talk about when you’re staring at me,” he said after a beat. 

“I’m always staring at you,” Even replied with a wink. Isak rolled his eyes, and Even chuckled. “Are you nervous to tell my parents tomorrow?” he asked. 

Isak sighed. “A little. You know them better than I do and you say they’ll be happy so… that helps a lot.”

“They will be,” Even assured him. “And if they try pulling any of that “you’re too young” shit, I can just call them out. It’s not like they waited long to have me.”

Laughing softly, Isak nodded. Even smiled. “You’re so beautiful when you laugh. I wish I could draw you like that, but I can’t make you laugh for an hour straight.”

“Oh, you have in the past,” Isak replied. “You can be pretty funny when you try.”

Even tilted his head with a smile. “So sweet to me,” he said. 

“I try,” Isak replied, also smiling, and Even had to stop drawing for a beat to lean over and kiss him. 

They were quiet for a while after that. Eventually, after staring at himself for a while, Isak said, “I think your parents are going to know right away.”

“Hmm?” Even hummed, distracted by the shading in the divot of his boy’s shoulder.

“I think they’re going to be able to tell right away,” Isak repeated. “I mean… I’ve put on nearly ten pounds. And all in one place. You don’t think it’s noticeable?”

“Baby, I think you look stunning,” Even replied. 

Isak rolled his eyes. “Thank you, but that’s not what I meant. I mean, people are going to be able to tell just by looking at me soon.”

“Yeah, maybe my mom will be able to tell,” Even nodded. Isak fiddled with his hands.

“Hey, Evy?” he asked after a beat. 

“Hm?”

“I’m sorry if… like… when I get bigger, it might be like… a turn off for you.” Isak looked up just as Even opened his mouth to protest, but he quickly intervened. “I mean, I know you think I’m perfect and beautiful and stuff, but I’m going to get really big, and you might not… like that. In bed.” He blinked a few times, eyes a little wet. 

“Isak,” Even shook his head. “That is not going to happen.”

“You can’t know that, though. I just… I already feel like… I’m being a dick to you a lot of the time, and… soon you might not even get turned on by me, and I just…”

“Hey,” Even put down his pencil. “Listen to me. First of all, I love you, even when you’re grumpy and whiney. I love you so, so much, and I know that, especially now, you can’t control your mood. I would never judge you or get angry with you for that. And I would never, ever, love you less for it. And as for you being a turn on,” Even wiggled his eyebrows, “I can assure you I will never stop finding you sexy. Fuck, just the thought of you three, four, five months from now makes me hard. Okay?”

Isak gave a slight nod, and Even frowned. “Look at me, baby,” he said, and Isak hesitantly looked up. “Okay?”

“Yeah,” Isak breathed. “Okay.” 

“I mean, why would we be fucking twice, three times a day if you were a turn off?” Even asked, smiling. 

Isak smiled back and rolled his eyes. “Because I’m horny and needy.”

“Nei,” Even shook his head, earning an incredulous look. “Okay, maybe that has something to do with it, but it’s also because I can’t keep it in my fucking pants around you.”

Giggling, Isak nodded. “Are you almost done?” he asked, gesturing to the drawing. Even looked down at it and nodded. 

“Almost.”

They were quiet again, until Isak asked, “Can we go shopping tomorrow? I need something to wear to your parents’ besides sweatpants and tshirts.”

“Of course, angel.”

“And we need groceries.”

“Okay.”

By the time Even was done, they were both stiff and sore from sitting still for so long, and decided to make dinner. Even made some sort of pasta dish and he noted with affection that Isak’s appetite really had… increased lately. Increased as in the younger boy finished off three plates without even noticing. 

“That was really good, Evy,” he said contently while doing dishes. Even thought of making a comment about how he had seemed to enjoy it, but figured it might embarass his boy, so he just thanked him with a kiss on the cheek. 

“Let’s play FIFA,” Isak suggested as they moved into their room. Even nodded, sitting on the bed and pulling Isak into the v of his legs. 

“You can play,” he said, “I have to answer some emails.”

While Isak turned on the game, Even saw he had an email from his therapist. It was about increasing their sessions, as they’d discussed last time they’d met. Even had a reason for this, and he knew he needed to talk to Isak about it soon, especially now that his therapist had confirmed he could fit him in a second time each week. Let him finish his game, the older boy thought. 

 

That night, when they were in bed, he was still thinking about. Isak was fast asleep, curled into his side like a kitten who needed warmth, but Even couldn’t shut off his mind. 

He was ecstatic for the baby to arrive. Absolutely ecstatic. The most excited he’d ever been. 

But… 

If he hurt that baby, their precious angel, he would never forgive himself. 

Shifting slightly, Isak let out a quiet noise. Even tightening his grip around his shoulders and, slowly, Isak opened his eyes. As soon as he understood that Even was awake, he asked, “What’s wrong, baby?”

“I’m sorry,” Even mumbled, “I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.”

Scooching up to look at him better, Isak shook his head. “What’s the matter?”

Even frowned. He planned on telling Isak at some point. Maybe now was as good as ever. “When the baby’s born… I don’t want you to…” he swallowed. “I need you to keep them away from me when I’m manic.”

Immediately, Isak’s brows drew in. Before he could say anything, Even continued. “I just… if I ever hurt them… I would never forgive myself. I can’t… I can’t, Isak. I can’t let that happen. So you need to keep them away from me.”

There was a bit of silence before Isak gave the smallest shake of his head. “Nei,” he said firmly. 

“Isak-”

“Nei, Even, nei.” The younger boy sat up slightly. “I’m not going to do that.”

“I can’t- I can’t trust myself around them.”

“I trust you,” Isak said softly. “Even, you would never, ever hurt our baby. Never in a million years.”

“But I can’t control myself when I’m like that.”

“Even, your manic self is still you. It gets harder to think clearly, yeah, and your feeling a lot more, but you don’t become a different person. And unless you did become a completely different person, absolutely nothing like that man I love, you would never hurt our baby. But that won’t happen. Because I’ve been with you when your manic dozens of times, and you are still the sweet, kind, caring, brave, thoughtful man in front of me. And your mom’s been around you a million times, too, and she says the same thing. You’ve never hurt me. You’ve never hurt anybody. And you will not hurt our baby.” 

“But-”

“Magnus’s mom has had three babies and she never hurt a hair on their heads. You- you’re- the baby is going to need you. You’re going to be their whole world. They’re going to love you so much- so, so much, Even. You will be their everything. They’re going to need you. And you’re going to be there, because you would never, ever hurt them. You are good and kind and warm. You could never hurt out baby. Okay?”

Even swallowed. “I just… I’m scared, Issy.”

“Here,” Isak said suddenly, reaching out and taking Even’s hands. He placed them over his stomach. “Feel that.” He leaned forward so that he was by Even’s ear and began to whisper. “That’s our baby in there. Right under your fingertips. We made that. And they need you. And I need you. And you will never hurt either of us. Because you’re amazing and good and kind, Even Bech Næsheim. Because... you’re you.”

Even laughed wetly. “Our baby,” he repeated. 

“Our baby. Who will love you more than anything in the world. You’re going to be such an amazing father,” Isak nodded. He moved back down so that he was laying again, still holding Even’s hands firmly to his stomach. “I’m scared, too, Evy,” he said after a beat. “But we’re going to do this together, minute by minute, just like we do everything, okay?”

Even nodded once. Isak pressed a kiss to his forehead and turned so Even would be spooning him. If the situation were different, he would spoon Even, but he wanted the older boy to be able to keep one hand over his belly. “Just keep feeling that,” he mumbled, shutting his eyes. “That’s our baby.”

“Our baby,” Even repeated again, and he finally began to feel tired.


	5. Five

Chapter 5

“Halla,” Even whispered down to Isak, who’d ended up back on his chest. 

“Halla,” the smaller boy whispered back, pushing up to give Even a kiss that turned into two, three. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

Isak moved one hand to cup Even’s face, gently running his thumb over the blue eyed boy’s cheek bone. Even dipped down to kiss him again, and they continued languidly making out, holding onto each other and barely even moving their mouths. After a while, Even pulled Isak so that the younger boy was straddling him. Isak leaned down again immediately, meeting Even’s mouth with his own. He let out a soft moan as Even licked along his lower lip, opening his mouth to let the older boy in. 

“What’s the time?” he asked, pulling away. Even made a frustrated noise and grabbed his phone. 

“Eleven.”

“We slept late.”

“We did.”

“What time do we have to be at your parents’?”

“Five.”

“Hmm,” Isak hummed, leaning down again. “Let’s have sex,” he whispered after a moment, kissing Even again. 

Even laughed into his mouth. “Sounds like a plan,” he agreed. 

Morning started fading into afternoon but it was a nice day outside, casting a gentle sort of light in as they did have sex, a couple of times. By the time they were both worn out, it had started raining lightly and the apartment was grey and misty. 

“I love you,” Isak mumbled against Even’s mouth. 

“I love you too, baby.”

“Happy Christmas eve.”

“Happy Christmas eve.”

A few more minutes passed before Isak groaned. “I guess we should get up.”

“Are you sore?”

“I’ve been sore for four months.”

Frowning, Even peppered kisses along the side of his face. “We don’t have to get up if you don’t want to.”

“But we need to buy clothes.”

“Okay.”

More time passed until, finally, Isak pushed up off of Even. He stood, stretching, and then held under his stomach. “I’m gonna get dressed.”

“Okay,” Even said, watching with interest as Isak started to get ready for the day. He really was getting bigger. Even could see the tiny divots where his hips used to stick out, and could follow the no-longer-existent of his once flat tummy with his eyes, but now there was a curve growing four inches out. 

“Fuck, my back hurts,” Isak mumbled, rubbing his lower back as he struggled into a pair of boxers. 

“You know, there are things to help with that.”

“Like?”

“I mean, you’re supposed to make sure you have really good posture because your center of gravity is changing, and you should sleep on your side. Also heating and cooling.”

Isak smirked. “How do you know all this?”

“You think I haven’t done my research?” Even gasped, mock-offended. 

Rolling his eyes, Isak pulled on his winnie the pooh sweater, which made Even smile. “Come on, you need to get dressed, too,” he said. 

Even huffed and hopped up. He yanked the Jesus tshirt out of their drawers and started to get dressed. By the time they were both ready, dressed in about ten million layers, the rain had drizzled to a stop. 

They took the tram down to the mall and Even dragged Isak through about a million stores, making him try on dozens of outfits so that he could ooh and ahh over them. “That’s so nice!” he said when Isak pulled on a stretchy pair of paternity jeans- they were basically jeggings- and a polo. 

“I don’t know,” Isak said, twisting around and looking in the mirror. “You don’t think it looks too… I don’t know, noticeable?”

“I thought you didn’t want to be in baggy clothes anymore?”

“Yeah, but now I’m reconsidering.”

“You look handsome as fuck, baby,” Even mumbled, coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around the smaller boy’s waist. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Smiling, Isak turned his head to press a soft kiss to Even’s waiting mouth. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, let’s just grab ten of these and then get out of here.”

“Nei, but I want to see you try more on!” Even protested. 

Isak snorted. “Even, I love you, but I hate malls. We’ve got to leave soon anyway if we want to get groceries and put them away before we go to your parents’.”

Even pouted, burying his face in Isak’s shoulder, and the younger boy rolled his eyes. “Come on, let’s go,” he said, turning and putting his hands over the sides of Even’s face. He lifted his head up and squeezed his cheeks. “Be a big boy for me.”

This made Even laugh and kiss Isak’s little squish of a nose. “Okay, mom.”

“Good. Now let’s go check out.”

By the time they were done shopping for clothes and food, stocked up with several items they rarely bought (“Nei, Even, they’re not cravings, I’ve always liked latkes.”) it was time to start getting ready. 

“So how are we gonna do this?” Isak asked as he tried to fix up his hair. Even was beside him, meticulously applying gel to get that perfect quiff, and Isak was tempted to remind him of the time the older boy had made fun of him about how much he cared for his hair. 

“Do what, baby?”

“Tell your parents.”

“Um,” Even looked at him in the mirror with a confused little smile. “We’ll just tell them?”

“Yeah, but like over dinner or after or right when we get there? And are you gonna bring it up? And what are you even gonna say?”

“Isak, it’s all going to be fine,” Even laughed. 

“I know, but I’d just like to know how this is going to go down,” Isak said back, rolling his eyes. 

“Well, I didn’t make, like, a script. But I guess I’ll bring it up during dinner.” Even, finally satisfied with his hair, turned and pressed a quick kiss to the side of Isak’s neck. “Don’t worry about it, baby. Relax, I’ve got you, okay?”

Isak smiled and turned to kiss him properly. “Okay. But be gentle with it.”

“Gentle?!” Even asked, pulling back with a laugh. 

“Gentle! I know you’re sure they’ll be happy, but it’s still going to be a surprise!”

“Baby, what do you think I’m going to do? ‘Hey, Isak’s pregnant, can you pass the salt?’”

Isak rolled his eyes. “Nei, I just-”

“‘Hey, Mama, we’re having a baby, what’s new with you?’”

Hitting Even’s chest lightly, Isak tried to stop smiling. “I’m just saying, handle it gently.”

“I’ll handle it gently,” Even nodded. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” They nodded, gently nudging their noses together, before Isak pulled away. 

“We gotta go or we’re gonna be late,” he said, walking out of the bathroom. Even laughed and followed. 

“Where are the flowers we bought?” Isak asked, walking into the kitchen and grabbing his keys. 

“Right behind you,” Even replied, and Isak spun around and grabbed them. “I don’t know why you still insist on bringing my mom flowers, you’ve known her for two years now.”

“First of all, it’s Christmas eve, we’re not showing up empty handed, secondly, I’m not going to stop being polite to your mother just because I’ve known her for a while,” Isak said. EVen raised his eyebrows. 

“You stopped being polite to me after you knew me for a while,” he said, and Isak rolled his eyes, walking over and giving him a quick kiss. He adjusted the collar of Even’s shirt. 

“That’s because you’re my best friend,” he said, patting the older boy’s now-very-straight shirt. 

Even smiled so wide his eyes turned into little crescent moons and leaned down, kissing Isak’s forehead. “You can’t be so cute all the time, baby, it isn’t fair,” he said, and Isak smiled, looking pleased with himself. 

“Come on,” he said, “let’s go.”

“Okay.” Even grabbed his wallet and they headed out. As they were in the foyer, he reached around Isak’s waist rested his hand over the younger boy’s tummy. “You’re about to meet your grandparents, little one!” he exclaimed as the door shut. 

 

“Hei!” Liv said as she opened the door. “Happy Christmas eve!” She stood on her tiptoes to give Even a hug. 

“Hei, mama,” he said, rubbing her back. 

After they hugged, she moved to Isak, who instinctively sucked in his stomach as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “How are you, sweetheart?” she said into his ear. They pulled apart, and Isak beamed down at her. 

“I’m great. How are you?”

“Wonderful. Come in, Alex is setting the table.”

The boys took off their coats, and Isak wondered if he was imagining things or if Liv’s eyes had actually lingered on his stomach. 

“Halla, boys!” Even’s dad called as they walked into the dining room. “How is everything?”

“Amazing,” Even replied, pulling out Isak’s chair like a real gentleman. He got a playful eye roll in response. 

“Here, Liv, we picked these up for you,” the smaller boy said, handing her the flowers. 

“Oh, these are lovely! Thank you, honey. Don’t worry, you get all the credit.” She gestured to Even with her head, saying, “I know this one had nothing to do with it.”

“Mama!” Even gasped in offense. Liv rolled her eyes. 

“Oh please, baby, you literally asked me why were bringing wine to your grandfather’s birthday party because ‘we just saw him last year.’”

Isak laughed, sitting down as everyone else did. 

“In my defense, I was ten years old,” Even said. 

The dinner was delicious- Isak tried not to go crazy and have a million servings, because maybe his appetite had increased a teeny tiny bit recently, but he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Even’s parents- and the conversation was easy. Isak was on edge the whole time, wondering when Even was going to drop the bomb. As everyone was finishing eating, the moment seemed to come, and the older boy cleared his throat.

“So,” he said, reaching over to hold Isak’s hand. “We have some news.”

Isak smiled, nodding. 

“We’re having a baby!”

Immediately, Liv squealed and dropped her fork with a clatter. “I knew it! I knew it as soon as I saw you, sweetheart!” she said to Isak, clapping her hands. 

Alex had stood up, walking over to shake both Isak and Even’s hands. “Congratulations, boys!”

“Takk, papa.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so happy for you two!” Liv said, standing and joining her husband on the other side of the table. She gave them both hugs, pulling away from Isak and putting both hands over his stomach. “Oh, honey, how far along are you? Do you know the gender? Oh, I’m so excited!”

“Mama, don’t overwhelm him!” Even laughed, and Liv had to blink away tears in her eyes. 

“I’m sorry, baby, I’m just so happy!”

“It’s okay,” Isak said, shaking his head with a smile. “Um, I’m almost four months, and we don’t know yet.” 

“Oh, so they’ll be a summer baby like you! Oh, that’s so wonderful.This is so wonderful. Honey, we’re going to be grandparents!” She wrapped one arm around Alex’s waist and shook him slightly. 

“We’re so excited,” Even said, walking to Isak and pulling him close from behind. 

“You must be! Do you have any names picked out?”

“Nei,” Isak shook his head, “not really. We haven’t really talked about it.”

“Oh, boys, this is so exciting. Well, you know we’ll be there with you every step of the way,” Liv said, and they both nodded. 

The rest of the night was easy, and Liv and Alex actually had some presents for them, mostly stuff for around the house. By the end of the night, Isak was tired and happy. “Are you ready to go home, baby?” Even mumbled into his hair as his parents went to open another bottle of wine. Isak smiled up at him sleepily and nodded. 

“Mama, pappa,” Even called, standing up and holding Isak close to his side. “We’re actually going to head out. It was so nice seeing you.”

“Oh, sweetie, it was nice seeing you, too,” Liv said, giving him a big hug. Even then hugged his father, while Isak hugged Liv. 

“You know you can call me anytime, right, pumpkin?”

“Of course.”

“Seriously.” She put both hands over his stomach. “I’m so happy for you. This is going to be such a wonderful experience.”

Isak smiled and tilted his head, putting his hands over hers. “It already is.”

 

“Do you want stay up until midnight and have Christmas sex?” Even whispered on the tram ride back. 

Isak hummed. “I do, but I don’t know if I’ll make it that long. You can wake me if you want.”

Frowning, Even nosed at his temple before kissing it. “You need your sleep baby.”

“Yeah. And I’m sure if God really believes man shouldn’t lie with man, Jesus wouldn’t want us fucking first thing on his birthday.”

Even laughed, tugging Isak closer, so that he was almost on the older boy’s lap. “Even, I need my personal space,” the younger boy muttered with closed eyes and a smile as he moved even closer. 

“I’m sorry, angel,” Even replied, wrapping both arms around his middle and peppering kisses along his jaw. 

 

Once they were home, Even put on “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” much to Isak’s chagrin (“What the fuck is this, Even? This is creepy.” “This is a classic! Nothing can beat Jim Carrey as the grinch. Don’t let anybody tell you the cartoon is better just because it’s older.” “This is scarring, Even. You’re traumatizing the baby.”) but he ended up loving it. It ended by nine, and Isak could barely keep his eyes open. “Go to sleep, baby,” Even mumbled, and he did. 

The next morning, the snowlight woke Isak up around nine. Of course it had snowed during the night. It was Christmas, after all.

Christmas. 

Smiling, Isak shimmied on top of Even and pressed a kiss to his sleeping mouth. When the older boy didn’t move, Isak stopped hovering and collapsed so that all of his weight hit Even full on. Even’s eyes shot open and he made a winded sound. 

Once he’d figured out what had happened, Even let his head fall back into the pillow. “Fuck, Issy, I thought I was getting attacked or something.”

“Nei, just me. Attacked with love,” Isak said back, scrunching up his nose. “Happy Christmas, Evy.”

“Happy Christmas, baby.” Even smiled and kissed Isak lightly. After a beat, the younger boy pulled back. 

“Still up for that Christmas sex?”

Grinning, Even flipped them over, and Isak let out a little squeak. “Always,” he said into the green eyed boy’s neck, and it must’ve tickled, because Isak giggled and Even felt like he was the luckiest man on earth. 

 

“What do you want for Christmas breakfast?” Even asked around eleven, walking into their kitchen and opening up the cabinets. 

“Hmm. Pancakes. I can help make them. Wait,” he walked to one of the drawers, “I got something yesterday.” He pulled out a box of food coloring. “So we can dye them red and green!” 

Even laughed, taking the box. “Now it’s really Christmas breakfast.”

Nodding, Isak came up behind him and latched both arms around his waist. “I thought you’d like it,” he said. 

“I love it, baby,” Even replied. 

 

Their Christmas pancakes were great, Even put sprinkles and chocolate chips in them at Isak’s request and made about a dozen. They dyed Isak’s tongue green and he spent a while modeling it in front of Even’s camera. “You should call the series ‘Pregnant Lizard Boy.’”

By the time they were done eating, Even was ready to give Isak his presents. He’d been really hoping to nail it this year, and he was pretty confidant. The stockpile of gifts in their closet was full of things he knew Isak loved. 

“Ready for the fun part, baby?” he asked as Isak did the dishes. 

Smirking, Isak turned around. “I thought we already did that.”

“I mean your presents,” Even replied, rolling his eyes. Smiling, Isak nodded, and let Even lead him to the bed. 

Once he was settled, Even walked to the closet and opened it. He pulled out all five gifts, each wrapped in sparkly paper, and set them across from his boy. Isak’s eyes got wide. “Evy, you got so much,” he said. 

Even smiled and sat down. “Open them,” he said, and Isak hesitantly picked up the first gift. This one was tube shaped and Isak had a suspicion that it was a poster. When he opened it, he found a black and white, 92 by 30 cm print of Sana’s eid party from this summer. They were all there- Magnus, Jonas, Mahdi, him and Even, Mikael, Elias, Adam, Mutta, Yousef, Sana, Vilde, Chris, Noora and Eva- and everyone had big grins. Isak’s grin now matched them as he smiled down at the poster. “Even,” he sighed, looking up at his boyfriend. “I love it. Thank you.” 

Even nodded with a smile and handed Isak the next gift. This one was a very detailed book on the science of male pregnancy. “So you can study,” he joked, and Isak rolled his eyes and kissed him. Next there was a new snapback, with Tigger on it (“Where did you even get this?” “Amazon. I thought it went with your sweater.”) Then there was the new FIFA, and, finally, a mug that said #1 Pappa in bright red. “Thank you, Evy,” Isak said, smiling down at all his new presents. He climbed over them to press another kiss to Even’s waiting mouth. 

Once they were finished kissing, Isak stood and walked to his clothes drawer. “I didn’t get you that much,” he said, blushing. “I only got one thing.”

“That’s fine, baby,” Even said, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter to me.”

Sitting down, Isak looked almost nervous. He’d put his present in a bag, full of tissues. “I was going to get actual issue paper, but then I remembered how many tissues you like to use,” Isak joked, referencing the day they’d met, but it seemed like he was still on edge, watching as Even removed the tissues one at a time. The box inside wasn’t a typical ring box, Daniel said that the ring box fitted for the ring had been thrown away, so Even was curious as he lifted it out. When he opened it, he lifted out the ring and held it up to the light. “It’s beautiful,” he said after a beat, not really understanding what the pattern was supposed to be but enjoying it all the same. 

“I’m sorry about the B,” Isak said, and Even didn’t know what he was talking about. “Somebody bought it and had it personalized, but then backed out. The only way I could afford it was buying it like this.”

“That’s fine, sweetie,” Even said, shaking his head. He finally found what Isak was referring to, a little B sticking out on the inside. 

“It can just stand for baby,” the younger boy added. “Because, uh, I had it personalized, too.”

He crawled over and pointed to the pattern. “See, um, that’s the baby’s heartbeat.”

It was quiet for a few seconds. “What?” Even finally asked. 

“That’s the baby’s heartbeat,” Isak repeated. “I, um, I had it recorded, so I turned it into a soundwave and had in engraved into the ring.” He looked down at his tummy. “I mean, I get to have the baby’s heartbeat with me all the time. I figured you should, too.”

Even blinked. The baby’s heartbeat. 

The first time they’d heard it, Isak was two months along. It was only their second visit to the obstetrician, and neither of them had been fully prepared for what was about to happen. She’d put the gel over Isak’s stomach and then that tool thing, and suddenly a little ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum had filled up the room. 

“That’s your baby’s heartbeat.” 

As soon as those words left her mouth, Even felt his whole body go cold. He had to close his eyes. Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum. It was so strong. 

“Evy,” Isak had laughed from where he was laying. Even slowly opened his eyes again to see that Isak had tears in his. The doctor was smiling, but didn’t interrupt them.

“The heartbeat,” Even said, and the words sounded strange and beautiful in his mouth. “Our baby’s heartbeat.”

“Our baby’s heartbeat,” Isak said back, taking Even’s hand. Even laughed wetly, squeezing it. 

“It’s so powerful,” he said. “Oh my god, our baby’s heartbeat.”

“It’s so beautiful,” Isak said, staring up at the ceiling. Even brought the smaller boy’s hand to his face and smattered kisses across his knuckles. Later, when they were in the bathroom after the visit, he’d done the same to his tummy, which was all but flat at that point. 

“Our baby’s heart is beating in there.”

“It is.”

“Our baby is alive in there.”

“They are.”

“We made a baby and it’s alive and its heart is beating in there.” 

Isak laughed, tears streaking his face. “We did.”

 

“Even?” Isak’s voice snapped him out of his memory. “Do you like it?”

There was another beat of silence before Even reached out and cupped Isak’s cheek with one hand. “Baby,” he breathed. They held eye contact until Even looked at the ring again, tearing up. “It’s perfect.”

Isak was crying now, too. “Yeah?”

“Oh my god. It’s perfect. You’re perfect. Isak, this is amazing.”

Laughing slightly, Isak took it and put in on his boy’s finger. “Now you’ll have the baby’s heartbeat with you all the time.”

“Isak,” Even all but groaned, surging forward and crashing their lips together. The smaller boy giggled against his mouth, falling back on top of the Tigger snapback and cupping Even’s face between his hands. 

“I assume you like it then?”

“Fuck, I’m never taking it off!” 

They smiled at each other for a few more seconds before they started kissing again, but Isak’s phone decided to ring at that moment, making them both groan. “I got it,” Isak said, reaching over to grab it from under his presents. He didn’t even check the caller ID before picking up, leaning back against the mattress. “Hei?”

He stayed silent for a few more seconds before furrowing his brow. “Oh. Oh, okay… Nei, thank you for calling… Okay. Yes. Happy Christmas.” Hanging up, he clenched his jaw slightly. 

“What’s the matter, baby?” Even asked, still hovering slightly over him. He brushed back some of the younger boy’s hair. 

“Umm, we’re not going to be seeing my mom today.”

Frowning, Even tilted his head. “Is something the matter?”

“She… her nurse called, she, um, she just gets very stressed around Christmas sometimes. Her nurse thinks it would be best if she didn’t see anyone today.” Isak cleared his throat. “It’s fine, though. I don’t want it to ruin our day.”

“Baby, it won’t ruin our day if you’re a little sad about your mom,” Even replied, shaking his head. 

“Nei, seriously,” Isak replied, wiping at his face, because yeah he was crying, but he’d already been crying, okay? “Let’s just go out for dinner, yeah? Or something. Or, um, isn’t Eva having her Christmas party?”

“I’ll get if you don’t wanna go now,” Even said, but Isak started standing. 

“It’s seriously fine, I want to go, okay?” 

Standing behind him, Even wrapped his arm’s around the smaller boy’s waist. “I’m sorry about your mom,” he sighed. Isak closed his eyes and put his hands over Even’s. 

After they stood their for a beat, he said, “I really want to go. Can we just go, please?”

“Of course, angel.”

 

The party was already in full swing by the time they arrived, because it had taken a while to get dressed and ready to leave (“It is a crime to get dressed before three pm on Christmas, Evy.”) and even longer for Isak to work up the courage to show when he remembered that Chris, Vilde and Noora didn’t know, unless somebody else had told them. 

“They’re going to be excited, baby,” Even laughed as they walked up to Vilde’s flat. 

“That’s the problem, they’re going to be too excited!” 

“Maybe you should tell Vilde she can be the godmother, that might calm her down,” Even laughed, and Isak nudged him with his shoulder. As soon as they opened the door, they were greeted by a shrieking and excited Eva. “Isak and Even are here!” she announced to the room, throwing both arms around Isak’s neck. “Oh, I missed you so much!”

“Hei, Eva,” Isak laughed, patting her back. Jonas came behind her and grabbed her from around the waist, making her squeal. “Hey, bro,” Isak said over her head. 

“Halla,” Jonas replied, nodding at the couple. Mahdi and Elias and Mikael were sitting on one of the couches and Yousef and Sana were across from them, laughing at something. Eskild and Linn had their own party to go to, but everyone else seemed to be there. Magnus and Vilde were making out in the kitchen- they’d broken up after high school, since Vilde was going to uni in France, but everytime they were in the same room they were all over each other, and they still leaned heavily on each other for support all year round. Chris and Noora were sitting at the kitchen table, and, as soon as Isak and Even walked in, they both screamed. 

“Hei!!” Noora shouted, walking over and giving them both huge hugs. As soon as she touched Isak, she pulled back. She looked down at his stomach once and then back up at him with wide eyes. He blushed slightly and nodded, making her slap one hand over her mouth. “Oh my god,” she said, muffled. “Oh my god!” At this, she started jumping up and down, fanning herself. Isak had never seen Noora so excited. Maybe it was just the party atmosphere that was getting to her. 

“What’s going on?” Chris asked, coming up behind her, hair in two french braids. Noora kept jumping and pointed one finger to Isak’s stomach. Chris stared for a beat before a shocked expression came over her face. 

“Fy faen, you’re fucking pregnant!” 

“WHAT?!” was shrieked from behind, where Vilde had literally shoved Magnus off of her and jumped down from the counter. “You’re PREGNANT!?”

So that turned into a Thing. But, by the night’s end, everyone was happy. It felt similar to the kosegruppa parties they’d always had at Nissen, which was nice. 

When they got home, though, and Even peppered Isak’s belly with kisses as he undressed the smaller boy, it felt a lot better than that.


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hii, sorry this took so long, hope you like it!

Chapter 6

Isak groaned, head thrown back into his pillow. He balled up the sheets in his fists, squeezing his eyes shut tight and making soft hurt sounds as Even started to add more pressure. Finally, when it got too much, he instinctively kicked the older boy in the stomach. 

“Jesus, Isak!” Even laughed. 

“Owwww,” the smaller boy whined, retracting his leg again. That had been a bad idea. 

“I’m trying to give you a massage, baby,” Even said, brushing back some of Isak’s hair as he walked along the side of the bed and sat next to him. “If it hurts that bad, I’ll stop. It’s supposed to make you feel better.”

“Nei, you can’t stop,” Isak whined, throwing both arms over his face. “You have to do something to fix it, if you stop it won’t go away.” 

Even sighed and rubbed his tummy. “I don’t want to hurt you, though, sweetheart. Come on, we can look at more ways to help.”

Isak sniffed, not moving. Even kept one hand on his head, slowly twisting and untwisting the fine baby hairs by his ear, as he googled ways to reduce swollen ankles. “Okay, I could… we could do yoga?” 

“I can’t move,” Isak shook his head. 

“I could run you a bath.”

Peeking out slightly, Isak scrunched his eyebrows in that pretty, pouty look he got. “Does that help?”

“A salt water soak is supposed to help,” Even nodded. 

“I think that means, like, a bucket of salt water, not a whole bath,” Isak replied earnestly.

“I could still run a bath. It would help you relax.” 

Nuzzling into Even’s touch, the green eyed boy asked, “Could you sit with me?” 

“Of course, angel,” Even agreed before standing. “Here, I’ll get the water running, you just chill.” 

Huffing, Isak nodded. He sat up, grabbing his phone and checking his messages. 

The squad group chat was going crazy. Isak rolled his eyes. 

Magnus: GUYS

 

Magnus: GUYSSSS

Mahdi: what

Magnus: A GIRL KISSED ME

Mahdi: Bro congrats

Jonas: Is this your first non vilde kiss?

Magnus: uhm fy faen?

Magnus: nei?

Jonas: what?

Mahdi: what?

Jonas: who else have you kissed?

Magnus: Lots of girls! 

Magnus: I was a virgin before Vilde not a kiss virgin!

Magnus: plus I’ve had lots of hook ups now that we’re in uni!

Jonas: who are you hooking with?

Magnus: nobody specific

Magnus: anyway, a girl who i LIKE kissed me this time

Mahdi: I thought you and Vilde were still sort of a thing?

Magnus: nei

Magnus: I mean we’re friends and we hook up but we both agreed it would be better not to date

Mahdi: chill

Magnus: this girl is really cool though

Magnus: you guys would like her!

Magnus: she’s really smart 

Magnus: and she’s political, jonas

Magnus: and she likes science, isak

Magnus: and she likes philosophy, mahdi

Magnus: and waffles!

Magnus: and she thinks Evak is super cute!

Mahdi: why does she like you then

Magnus: rude:(

Mahdi: haha

Mahdi: don’t worry, I’m sure she’s cool

Mahdi: and you’re cool, so it’s good

Magnus: yay:)

Jonas: faen Magnus you’re really into her

This is where Isak joined the conversation, scanning through it with an amused little frown. 

Isak: why does she think me and even are cute

Magnus: yeah jinas I am and because you are isak

Mahdi: jinas

Isak: have you been like showing her pictures of us?

Magnus: I’ve showed her pictures of all you guys

Magnus: and I told her you were dating

Jonas: what mahdi?

Mahdi: he called you jinas

Jonas: oh haha

Isak: oh ok

Isak: guys my ankles are swollen and it HURTS and im DYING

Jonas: hahahahahahahahahahaha

Mahdi: that sucks bro

Magnus: is that a thing?

“Who are you texting?” Even asked as he walked back into the bedroom. Isak smiled. 

“The boys. Magnus hooked up with some chick he likes.”

Even pulled out his own phone, quickly scrolling through the messages. He laughed. “Poor Magnus. That’s sweet she thinks we’re cute.”

Making an unimpressed sound, Isak started to reply. 

Isak: fuck you, it really hurts

Isak: and yes it’s a thing mags

Mahdi: I was being serious, that really sucks!

Isak: fine, fuck jonas

Even: poor boy has cankles

Looking up, Isak groaned. “Even,” he whined, and the older boy smiled. 

“What? You already told them your ankles are swollen!”

“Did you seriously have to say cankles though?”

Walking over, Even got on his knees to hover over the smaller boy. He leaned down, kissing the crown of his head before bumping their noses together. “I’m sorry your ankles hurt, baby boy.”

Frowning, Isak wrapped his arms around Even’s waist and buried his face in the older boy’s shirt. Even idly stoked his hair. He was still holding his phone and saw it light up as the replies started to roll in. 

Mahdi: canklesss

Magnus: what are cankles

Jonas: hahahahahaha, isak that’s the best

Magnus: what are cankles

Mahdi: you know my mom’s ankles got swollen with my baby sister

Mahdi: it sucks pretty bad

Mahdi: we had to do everything for her

Jonas: poor issy

Jonas: at least we know even’s definitely doing everything for him

Magnus: don’t worry i looked it up

Even: that’s true, I definitely am<3

Even: speaking of, we’ve got a bath to take

“Baby, the water is gonna get cold,” Even said down to Isak, who was still clinging around his waist. 

“I can’t walk,” Isak said pitifully. Even gently unlatched him and stepped down from the bed. 

“Come here, sweet boy,” he said, reaching under Isak’s shoulders and lifting him slightly. He grabbed under his knees, too, and carried him into the bathroom newlywed style. It was a bit of a struggle, what with the almost six foot tall boy and the twelve extra pounds all in one spot, but Isak was staring up at him with such admiration that Even couldn’t complain for a million bucks. 

“I love you, Evy,” Isak mumbled shyly, shutting his eyes and resting his head against the older boy’s chest. Even tightened his grip. 

When they got to the bathroom, Even neatly deposited Isak on the toilet, before testing the water with one finger. “Get undressed, baby,” he said, and Isak listened, taking off his tshirt and struggling out of his pants.

When Even was once again satisfied with the bath, he looked towards the smaller boy. “I’m afraid that if I try to carry you in, I’ll drop you or something. Can you get in by yourself.”

Isak pursed his lips and nodded after a beat. Carefully, ever so carefully, he stood up and walked towards the bath, pain immediately shooting through his legs. He winced but tried not to show it, never wanted to make Even feel bed. Finally, he eased himself into the water, sighing quiety once the pressure was off of his feet. 

Even quickly shed his own outfit and joined him, climbing in behind Isak and letting the younger boy settle between his legs. “Fuck, this feels nice,” Isak said. 

Even ducked down to start pressing kisses into the side of his boy’s neck, making Isak squirm. “Stop or I’ll get hard and then I won’t be able to appreciate this amazing bath,” he chastised lightly. “We’ll do that later, anyway, trust me.”

Even laughed, looping his arms around Isak’s waist like a seat belt. “I love being here with you,” Isak mumbled sleepily, eyes shut, and Even smiled, pressing a kiss behind his ear because he couldn’t help himself, okay?

“I love it, too.”

Things were quiet for a while after that, until Isak shifted slightly. “What do you want?” he asked. 

“Hm?”

“A boy or a girl?”

Immediately, Even’s hands went from being casually curled to pressed flat against Isak’s stomach. “I don’t care, sweetheart. I’ll be so happy no matter what.” 

Isak hummed, resting his hands over Even’s. “Me, too,” he said after a beat. He meant it, too. He couldn’t decide if the image of Even with their little girl, carrying her on his shoulders, all pride and smiles, or the image of Even with their little boy, tickling him on their bed, laughter coming from both their mouths, was better. “You’re going to be so amazing with them.”

Even kissed the back of his head. “So will you, baby.”

Isak swallowed, because honestly he wasn’t so sure, but he decided now wasn’t the time to dive into that. “What do you think of names?” he asked, thrumming his fingers over his belly. 

“I’m not sure. I think Elise is nice.”

“Jonas’s first girlfriend was called Elise, that’s too weird,” Isak shook his head. Even laughed. 

“Maybe Ingrid then? Or Eva?”

Rolling his eyes, Isak added his own suggestion. “What about Mathilde?”

“Too hard to say.”

“Nei?” Isak turned to look at him. 

“Maybe not for us, but the minute she goes into a foreign county, everyone starts calling her math-eeld.”

“Hmm. Viola?”

Even was quiet for a beat. “You know, I read a book once about a little girl named Faina.” He started lightly stroking patterns over Isak’s warm skin. 

“Fa-ee-na?” Isak said, drawing out each syllable too long. “Is that Norwegian?”

“Nei, Russian. But apparently it means, like… shining lights on the mountain. Like alpenglow.” 

“Alpenglow,” Isak nodded. 

“I don’t know. It’s chill if you don’t like that. I mean, I just… I liked the book and I think… the baby’s going to be like the light of our life, you know?” Even sounded almost embarrassed. 

Isak leaned back against him completely, melting into the older boy. “I really like that, Even,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

They were quiet for a beat. “What about for a boy?” Even asked eventually. 

Isak hummed. “Faen, I have no idea. What even are boy’s names?”

“How about William?”

“Mmmhmm, but we can never get him a haircut.”

Laughing in a way that made Isak’s whole body warm, Even started to pepper kisses along the back of Isak’s neck. This time, Isak didn’t mind. In fact, he turned to meet Even’s mouth, sucking into it, moaning softly as Even bit as his lower lip. “Let’s get out of the water, baby,” Even said lowly, wiggling out from behind Isak to stand up and drain the tub. Once it was empty, he helped stand Isak up- his ankles were considerably less swollen- and towel dried his boy, dropping to his knees as he started to dry his lower half. He looked up at Isak with a playful smirk and Isak smiled back down, trying not to make his hard on too obvious, which was pretty difficult as Even knelt in front of his naked form. “Mm, baby, you need me to suck you off?” Even asked, as apparently Isak had failed in his mission. 

“I- I don’t think I can stand for very long,” Isak said, as his ankles still hurt. He squeaked when Even kissed his oversensitive tip, and then screamed as the older boy stood suddenly and hoisted him up by his thighs. 

“Let’s go to bed, then,” Even said, smiling with his full face. Isak tilted his head, smiling back, and nodded. 

 

As soon as they were in bed, Even was kissing Isak like his life depended on it, humming into his mouth. “Baby, when will you stop being so needy for me all time, hmm?” he asked, reaching down to palm at Isak’s pulsing cock. 

“Shut up,” the green eyed boy panted. “It’s not my fault you’re so- sexy, or that my fucking body is on overdrive.”

“I know, angel, I know,” Even murmured into the crook of his neck, sucking bruises there. “You just can’t help yourself for me.”

“Evy,” Isak whimpered as the older boy suddenly gripped his base. Even smiled, blowing cool air over the hickeys he’d just created, and then he started kissing down Isak’s belly. 

 

The knock came while they were laying in the afterglow. Isak wished he could be in his cozy, comfy, happy place, which was on his stomach and half on Even’s chest, but his tummy now prevented that, and so Even was spooning him. 

As soon as they heard it, Even groaned and buried his face in the nape of Isak’s neck. “Go get it,” the younger boy said sleepily. 

“Neiii,” Even whined, mostly joking, but Isak huffed and got up anyway. Even pouted at the sudden loss of warmth. “Baby, I was kidding,” he said sadly as Isak pulled on a hoodie and a pair of sweats. 

“It’s fine,” Isak shook his head. “My feet don’t hurt that bad anymore. And I think you might’ve had something to do with that, so.”

Smiling, Even pursed his lips and blew a little air kiss, which Isak quickly returned before padding to the door. 

He swung it open with a bright and curious, “Hallo?”

He certainly wasn’t expecting to see his mother on the other side. 

She turned slowly, golden blonde hair blowing over her face. “Isak!” she said immediately, hugging him tightly, but then she froze. They both froze. 

That’s how Even found them, looking into each other’s eyes, both a little afraid as he, himself, whined out, “Who was at the door, baby?”

“Isak, are you…?”

“Uhm… mama… why don’t you come in?

 

It was about two hours later, all wrapped up in blankets since the heating in their apartment was bad and it was January in Norway, blowing on the tea that Even had made, when Isak’s mom finally asked where they were planning on living once the baby was born. She tilted her head, hair falling into her eyes, and Isak couldn’t help but think that she looked young. 

“We don’t know. We’re looking for a bigger place, but…” 

Even reached over and put one hand over his boy’s knee. “We’re gonna find somewhere perfect.”

“Well, you know, sweetheart… if you need money… your father and I would be happy to help. Have you… have you told your father?”

Isak stared at his hands in his lap. “Nei,” he finally breathed. “I, um… I haven’t spoken to pappa in a while.”

In fact, he could remember that last time he’d seen his dad clearly. It was during the end of his third year at Nissen, and he’d finally told him about Even being bipolar, a subject he’d avoided for a long time because... well… how could he look the man who slammed the door in the face of his young son and his wife, screaming “Crazy cunt!” because she was having one of her episodes, and tell him that his boyfriend had a serious mental illness. 

And, yeah. It hadn’t gone well. “I always knew there was something going on with him, Isak! You can’t tell me all those problems at the beginning weren’t because of this!” “Fuck you, that was before I even knew! It’s been a fucking year and a half, and we haven’t had any problems since then!” “Isak, he’s just going to hurt you! Those people- they aren’t fit for a relationship!” That’s where things had ended. Isak didn’t want to go to jail for murder when Even was at home waiting for him.

His mom looked slightly sad at the news. “Well, I don’t… I don’t have much to give, but I’ll do as much as I can for you two, okay? No buts. My grandchild,” she let her eyes linger on Isak’s tummy, a bittersweet look fleeting over her face before she took a deep breath. “My grandchild should be a happy one. In a happy home.”

Isak nodded, clutching his tea cup more tightly. It had started snowing, and his swelling had gone back up. He didn’t want to make a fuss of it until his mom left. 

“Thank you,” Even said gently. He and Isak’s mom had a quiet understanding of each other. Marianne was glad that Even had found her boy and wrapped him up in love and warmth. The memory of Isak’s face, panic stricken as he choked on his words and his bile and all the poison that she and Terje had been shoving down his throat since they day he began to understand that there was mold growing in the cracks of their family, his face at thirteen and scared and fifteen and terrified and sixteen and so broken that he left, vanished from her life, still made her soul ache. 

“My parents will help a lot, too. We’re going to be just fine,” Even added to fill the silence. Marianne nodded. 

“And you, um… you’re happy? Both of you?” she asked. Isak nodded quickly. 

“We’re happy, mama.”

Her heart swelled painfully at those words. Her boy was happy. She wasn’t the one who helped him there (she blamed herself for holding him back) but he was happy. “I’m glad,” she whispered. 

Isak could tell she was in a dark place in her mind. After they’d invited her in and heard her whispered excuses about being in the neighborhood, he’d known. Because she’d always needed him when she was in a dark place (and he blamed himself for leaving her at her darkest) because his golden curls and pretty green eyes reminded her of the days when she could think straight and he made her think of angels and other, pretty things. The first time he’d seen her after leaving, at the beginning of his second year, tears spilled onto her sagging cheeks because he was so much taller than when she’d seen him last, and that wasn’t something a mother was supposed to think about her son. 

But he still looked like an angel. 

So Isak knew she was in a dark place, because he knew that, when she was happy and everything was calm in her head, she could be a bright, hopeful presence. He hoped she would get to a good enough point where that would be the grandmother his child saw, more than this one. 

The snow came harder, wet now. It was a dreary day outside. Marianne shifted. “I guess I should go,” she said quietly, and Isak stood. He walked her to the door, wanting to say a million things, but then she was hugging him again, and whispering, “Please let this child have a happier home than the one I gave you.” He couldn’t tell if she was speaking to him- her words sounded as if they were directed towards God- but he returned the embrace. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” he breathed. “I- I should’ve…”

She pulled away, landing on her heels and cupping his face in her hands. “It wasn't your job.”

They were quiet for a beat, and then she kissed his forehead. “Bye, sweetheart. I’ll come by again soon, okay?”

“Okay, mama,” Isak replied. “Or maybe we’ll stop by yours.”

She smiled a bit sadly and nodded before letting herself out. “Bye,” Isak said just as the door closed. He felt drained. 

“Baby?”

Even’s voice echoed from the hallway. Isak was still staring at the door. Slowly, he turned and nodded. “Hei.”

“You okay?” 

Isak didn’t say anything. “I think,” he finally managed. Even walked over, looking at him with a question in his eyes, and Isak closed the gap between them, collapsing against his boy’s chest. “I love you,” he mumbled, and Even rubbed his back. 

“Here, let’s go to bed.”

 

By the time Isak was in his pajamas, a bowl of warm soup in his lap and himself in Even’s lap, he was feeling a little less drained. “What about Nils?”

“Nei, too basic. Eirik?”

“Hm, doesn’t feel right.”

“Jorg?”

“Jorg?” Even imitated, because apparently Isak had said it weird, and the younger boy began to laugh, still a little tired, when suddenly he gasped and flinched so hard that his soup sloshed over the side of the bowl. 

“Fy faen,” he said in surprise. Even was immediately looking over him, concern written all over his face. 

“What is it?”

“I…” Isak tried to catch his breath, staring at his belly. “I think the baby just kicked.”

He could feel Even go stiff against him. “...What?”

“I said,” Isak laughed, eyes a little wet now, “I think the baby just kicked.”

Even eased both hands over Isak’s belly, and they both sat like that, practically holding their breath, until Isak jerked again. “Did you feel that?” he laughed, and Even had to shake his head. 

“Nei? I didn’t feel anything.”

“Yeah, you probably won’t be able to for a while. But the baby is kicking, Even! It had real little legs and everything!” Isak was full on crying now and Even was starting to get teary, too. When they kissed, Isak had to smile into it, because the baby kicked again.


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> GENDER REVEAL!! Also, I probably won't be updating as frequently for the next couple weeks, because I'm going on to a writing program in Iowa. Sorry!!

Chapter 7

“Fuck,” Isak said, leaning his head against the car window. “Fuck, what if it’s a boy?”

“Then it’s a boy?” Even laughed from the driver’s seat, resting one hand on Isak’s bouncing knee. “I thought you said you were fine with each.” 

“I am, but little boys scare me, okay? I never had any boy friends when I was little, except Jonas.”

“Sweetheart, our little boy isn’t gonna be a bully, okay?”

“But what if it’s a girl?!”

Laughing, Even squeezed at Even’s knee before giving it a quick pat. “Then it’s a girl. Baby, you’ve got to stop worrying about this.”

“But I don’t know anything about little girls!”

“What do you think I know about little girls? Just as much as you. Actually, you’ve had more girl friends than I ever had,” Even laughed. “If it’s a girl then we’ll be fine.” 

Isak hummed, tapping his fingers nervously. “I hope they look like you,” he said eventually. Even laughed. 

“I hope they look like you.” He emphasized the you, making them sound even more like a cheesy cliche couple than they already did. Isak rolled his eyes, finally settling his hand over Even’s and squeezing.

By the time they pulled up to the OBGYN, Isak was even more nervous. He knew that he would be happy either way, but he also knew that this was a really, really big deal. Even tucked one arm around his waist, sensing his anxious thoughts, and pressed a kiss into his temple. “Breathe, baby,” he said quietly. 

“I’m chill, I’m fine,” Isak replied hurriedly, nodding. “I’m breathing.”

“Good. Deep breaths, okay?” He was trying to stay calm for Isak’s sake, but couldn’t help making an excited little noise and pulling him slightly closer. “Aren’t you excited, baby?”

Isak nodded. As much as he was nervous, he was really excited, too. He was excited for this. He was excited to share this with Even. He was excited to finally know. He was excited to start to plan. So he turned and pressed a breath kiss to Even’s cheek, the one with the big dipper of beauty marks, and Even smiled down at him so brightly he wondered if everyone around was jealous that he’d managed to end up with this brilliant boy. 

“Isak and Even?” Dr. Engen called, poking her head into the waiting room they’d just walked into. Her french braids swung back and forth. In some ways, she reminded Isak of Dr. Skrulle from Nissen. What a legend. 

Even smiled at her and she made a little “come here” wave.

As they followed her into her office, Isak took a deep breath. Okay. This was really about to happen. 

Dr. Engen gestured for them to sit, smiling as she pulled up their files. “So… last time we chatted, everything was fine? Isak, you said you weren’t eating very much, but you were sleeping well and there was no pain or anything. Has anything changed? Everything’s still okay?”

“Mmhmm, everything’s fine. I’m eating better now and-”

“Eating better as in eating normally or eating pregnant?” Dr. Engen replied. 

Isak flushed. “Um- I wouldn’t say-”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed, it’s good if you’re eating more than normally.”

“I guess I’m eating more than normally,” the green eyed boy mumbled after a beat. Even rubbed his back. “And, um… the baby started kicking.”

“Really? That’s great! That must’ve been amazing for you.” Dr. Engen put down her clipboard. “When did this happen?”

“Around eighteen weeks.”

“So two weeks ago?”

“Yeah.”

“I assume it’s only strong enough for you to feel right now, Isak?”

“Yeah,” Isak nodded. Dr. Engen frowned.

“Your time will come, pappa,” she said to Even, who let out a quiet laugh through his nose.

“I can’t wait for the day.” 

“Me neither,” Isak added mostly to Even, taking his hand. “He’s going to be lose his mind,” he said to Dr. Engen.

She nodded knowingly. “Okay. Why don’t you just hop up here, I’ll get Martine to come in and we can do the ultrasound!” She wiggled her eyebrows excitedly. 

Even’s heart rate suddenly sped up. He hadn’t been nervous, he had never been nervous, but now this was real and it was happening and he was about to know if he was having a perfect little baby girl or a perfect little baby boy. 

Martine, the ultrasound technician, joined them quickly. “Halla,” she greeted happily. “Here, Isak, get situated.”

Isak layed back, taking deep breaths in and out. He felt almost out-of-body as she smoothly applied the gel- fuck, why was it always so fucking cold?

“Okay,” she said, looking into the little monitor. The baby in the image was looking clearer and clearer. Even could see the little head, the tiny legs and arms. He almost wanted to to touch it but that would be… odd. “Let’s see about this.” She narrowed her eyes, looking the image up and down. “I know you two have been talking about finding out the gender since day one, but are you completely sure?” 

“Yes,” they both said immediately. She smiled. 

“Okay… then I am very happy to tell you that you’re going to have a little girl.”

And that was… 

That was something real. That had just happened. 

“Oh,” Isak said, almost stupidly. “Oh, um…”

“I’m going to give you two a second,” Martine said, ducking out of the room. 

Even was sitting there silently. “Isak,” he said after a beat, looking at the green eyed boy, who was staring at the monitor. “Issy.”

“Oh my god,” Isak huffed after a beat, looking shocked. “I…”

“Oh my god. Isak.”

“A girl.”

“A girl!”

“Oh my god, she’s going to be so perfect. Oh my god, Evy, she’s going to be so perfect!”

Even stood up suddenly, walking to Isak. The younger boy sat up, wrapping both arms around Even’s neck and breathing in deeply. “She’s going to be the most amazing girl in the world.”

“Isak, baby,” Even laughed, pulling away and knocked their foreheads together. “We’re having a beautiful little girl.”

“Shit, we’re going to have to talk to her about periods and stuff. We’re going to have to buy bras.”

“I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself,” Even laughed, before pressing a soft, quick kiss to Isak’s mouth. He shook his head, eyes wet, and kissed the green eyed boy again, feeling both of their tears mix together, and they kept kissing, because they could and because they wanted to and because they were having a tiny, perfect baby girl. 

 

“Do you want to spend the night together or do you want to celebrate with everyone else?” Even asked as they drove home, impossibly excited. Isak was smiling over at him, eyes wide and adoring. 

“Whatever you want.”

“I don’t care!” Even laughed, smiling back. “Faen, we’re having a baby girl. Everyone’s going to be so excited.” 

“They better be. Shit, the girls are going to cry. Jonas is going to cry. I’m going to cry.”

“You already cried.”

“I’m going to cry again! I don’t think I’m going to stop crying for the rest of my life, Ev.”

“She’s going to be so perfect,” Even whispered, staring at the road, although he felt like on autodrive. Luckily they would be home soon. 

“She’s going to be so perfect!” Isak repeated, licking his lips. Even’s hand in his grew tighter. 

“How about we just see what people are doing? Since we’re being indecisive,” Isak suggested. 

“Sounds like a plan.”

Taking out his phone, Isak opened the big squad group chat. 

Isak: halla

Isak: what are people’s plans for tonight?

Eva: DID YOU FIND OUT THE GENDER

Isak rolled his eyes. “Eva’s got us figured out.”

“She’s a smart one,” Even nodded. 

Isak: … maybe

Isak: but we’re not telling over text!!

Eva: WHEN SHOULD I COME OVER

Isak: haha, we’ll be home in ten. Come whenever. But let us know first

Eva: omggggg this is so exciting!!

Eva: who else is going to come

Eva: jonas is coming

Jonas: I have work! 

Eva: you’re coming

Jonas: fine

Jonas: you’re lucky I love you buddy

Jonas: plus I need to know if I’m having a niece or a nephew

Noora: this is so exciting!

Noora: Eskild says he would love to come and he’s hurt you didn’t invite him yourself 

Noora: he also says “kollectiv back together!”

Sana: Yousef and I will be there

Vilde: yossi!!

Vilde: I wish I could come:((

Vilde: Isak you have to text me!!

Isak: fine I’ll text you vilde

Isak: but you better not tell

Vilde: I won’t!!

Sighing, Isak opened a separate conversation. “Vilde insists I text her now.”

“Well, that’s fair. It’s not as if she’s going to fly in for you,” Even laughed. 

Isak huffed. “Maybe she should. If she tells everyone else I’m going to be pissed.”

“Who’s coming?”

“So far Eva and Jonas, Noora and Eskild and I think Linn, and Sana and Yousef.”

“Good crowd.”

“Do you want me to text the balloon boys?”

“Ja, sure.”

Isak nodded, opening his phone again. He first texted Vilde. 

Isak: hei Vilde

Vilde: HALLOO

Vilde: hehe this is so exciting!

Isak: yes it is

Vilde: ok, go!

Isak laughed softly under his breath. 

Isak: it’s a girl

Vilde: OH MY GOD!!

Vilde: YAYAYAYAYAYAY

Vilde: You two will be so good with a girl!!

Vilde: I’m so excited!!!!!!!!!

Isak: haha, me too

Then Isak texted each of the balloon boys, not including Yousef. Elias, Adam and Mikael could come, Mutta was away, but that was alright. The conversation had continued on the big group chat, too. 

Magnus: omg I’ll be thereeee

Magnus: I’m so excited!!

Mahdi: Same I’ll be there!

Chris: fuck I wish I could make it:(

Chris: I’m in berlin

Nodding, Isak put down his phone. “Elias, Adam and Mikael will be there, as well as Mahdi and Magnus,” he said. 

“Great.” Even tilted his head towards Isak, sparing him a glance. “I love you so much, sweet boy.”

Isak smiled, tongue stuck between gappy teeth. “I love you, too.”

 

As soon as they were upstairs, Even was taking Isak’s shirt off and walking him to the bed. They were both grinning like madmen, sneaking in soft pecks until Isak sat down, resting back on one palm, the other hand just under his belly button. Even knelt between his knees. “Hei,” he whispered, almost nervously. Isak was taking long, deep breaths. “Hei, little one. Our sweet baby girl.”

“F-” Isak began, but Even stood and quickly put one hand over his mouth. 

“You can’t call the baby by its name before it’s born! That’s bad luck!”

From behind the hand, Isak rolled his eyes. He swatted at Even’s arm and the older boy reluctantly removed it. Looking down again, Isak smiled. “Hei, baby girl.”

“We love you so much, angel,” Even mumbled, kneeling again and putting both hands on the sides of Isak’s tummy. 

“We say it a million times a day, but it’s true,” added Isak. “We love you so, so much. And now we finally know you’re a girl! Our little, sweet baby girl.”

“And we’re going to spoil you so much, sweetheart. We’re going to love you so much you won’t know what to do,” Even said, peppering Isak’s stomach in kisses. “We’re going to love you from the moment you open your beautiful green eyes.”

“Or blue,” Isak added pointedly. 

Even laughed, moving up to kiss him again. “Our baby girl,” he murmured, cupping Isak’s face between his hands, and Isak smiled, face going surprised for a second as he glanced down. 

“She’s kicking,” he said quietly. “I think she can hear us.”

Even looked almost awestruck as he got back to his knees. “Can you hear us in there, sweetheart?” 

They were quiet for a beat until Isak broke out into another smile. “She kicked,” he nodded, and Even grinned so wide his eyes turned crescent and he couldn’t help but start kissing Isak’s tummy again because their baby girl was alive in their and she could hear him and one day he would teach her to braid her hair, or maybe he would go with her to help get it cut off, one day they would take her for walks and go to the park and kiss her cheeks so that she blushed and got all embarrassed, one day they would maybe give her a sibling, and she was, definitively, going to be the happiest little girl in the world. Even would make sure of it. And, looking up and seeing the wonder in Isak’s eyes, he knew that the younger boy would make sure of it, too. 

 

Everyone showed up more towards the evening. “We should’ve had one of those cake reveals, where you cut into the cake and if it’s pink or blue is how you know the gender,” Even was saying while Isak fondly rolled his eyes when the first knock sounded. 

Opening the door, Isak found Eva, Jonas and Magnus on the other side. 

“Hei!” Eva shouted, throwing her arms around his neck. Isak smiled. 

“Halla, Eva. Halla, boys,” he nodded at Jonas and Magnus. Once Eva let go, Jonas gave him a quick bro-hug, and then Magnus attacked him with the legendary bear hug. The same exchange was quickly repeated with Even. 

“Oh my god, this is so exciting!” Eva said, sitting down with the glass of wine she’d accepted from the tall blond boy. Jonas and Magnus took beer instead- Isak didn’t even know why they had beer, neither of them had had any in months- but he was glad that they had stuff to serve their guests with. “You have to tell us right now!”

“I think we’re gonna wait for everyone else,” Isak said, sitting down. He let out a sigh of relief- with his center of gravity off by fourteen fucking pounds, just standing and walking around was becoming tiring. Unfortunately, somebody else chose to arrive at that moment. Isak huffed out a breath, starting to get up, but Even swooped it and pushed him back down lightly by the shoulder. 

“Rest, baby,” he said before disappearing towards the foyer. Eva squeaked, throwing her arms around his shoulders. 

“Such a gentleman!”

Even returned with a grinning Mahdi, who earned cheers from everyone. “Halla,” he laughed, giving a small wave. Eva got up. 

“Mahdi!” she exclaimed, hugging him. Eva had developed a particular fondness of Magnus and Mahdi during their third year, after getting back together with Jonas. “Anyone would be better than that Elias,” she said as Jonas first brought her to meet them. But she found that she liked the boys who’d found and helped Isak and Jonas through second year. She’d known Magnus a little- he was friend’s with Isak during their first year, just an awkward kid who sometimes hung around. Jonas thought he was immature at first, but they got on eventually. Then Mahdi had come along at some point, friends with Magnus first because he was new during second year and everyone in Magnus’s biology class treated him like he was stupid except for the new kid. So Eva began to like them. They were sweet, caring. Protective of each other. And she liked that a lot. 

“Halla, Eva,” he said, hugging back briefly. “I think Mikael and Adam are on their way up,” he added, “I saw them getting out of their car.”

“Are they living together?” asked Jonas. 

“Yeah, they’re roommates,” Mahdi nodded, because he was closer with the balloon boys than Magnus or Jonas. Isak and Even shared a look about them being “roommates” because they’d had their suspicions about those two for a long time, but they didn’t say anything.

Mahdi was right, they did come up next, and the room was once again full of greetings and hugs. “Look who it is!” Adam said upon entering, pointing between Isak and Even. “The proud pappas!”

Sometimes Isak wondered if everyone else had their suspicions about the pair as well, considering they had their arms wrapped around each other (when didn’t they?) and they almost held hands more than Isak and Even did themselves. 

Mikael sat beside Isak, sandwiching him on the couch, where Eva was still leaning on his other side. “How are you, man?” he asked. He was wearing his black and white coat still, and his hood was up, but Isak had ceased to find little things like this strange. They slapped a handshake. 

“Awesome, how are you?” Isak replied. Eva butted into their conversation, saying something about Noora, when Elias, Sana and Yousef walked in. 

“Halla,” Sana said, popping a dimpled smile. 

Somehow she and Yousef ended up in a conversation with Magnus about the value of a good desk lamp, while Elias sat down on the table across from the couch and joined in with Mikael, Isak and Eva. Jonas, Even, Mahdi and Adam were off talking on the other side of the room. Finally, Noora, Linn and Eskild got there. 

“I’ve got this one,” Isak said, standing. He moved to the foyer and opened the door. 

“Hei!” Eskild said, shaking his hands. “Oh my god, kollectiv!! This is so exciting!! We haven’t been all four in so long!!” He gathered them all in a group hug, jumping up and down. 

Linn giggled, a pretty sound, and Noora made a fake annoyed noise. Isak laughed. Once they separated, Eskild gave him an individual hug. “Oh my god, baby Jesus, you’re huge!” he said, pulling back and staring down at Isak’s tummy. “So much bigger than last time. Linn, isn’t he huge.”

Linn nodded, biting on a small smile. 

Noora scoffed. “Eskild,” she scolded, hitting his arm. 

“What? He looks like a beached whale! Kidding, Isak, kidding. You only look like a regular whale. Kidding!” Eskild shook his head, rolling his eyes. “So serious!” 

Isak had to roll his eyes. He hadn’t even had time to react. Noora rolled hers, too, before hugging him. “You look great,” she said into his ear. After a quick hug with Linn, too- “I hope it’s a girl, or Eskild will try to turn it just like him”- they moved into the living room. 

“It’s okay, everyone, kollectiv is here,” Eskild announced, earning a shrill scream and a hug from Eva. They didn’t see much of each other these days. 

It was nice, having most of their friends there like that. While both boys socialized, Isak and Even eventually found their way back to each other, sitting on the arm chair, Isak securely between Even’s legs (only to take up the least amount of space, of course.) “Ready to do this?” Even whispered. Isak turned to look at him with a smile. 

“Yeah.”

Even smiled back. “Mmhh-mmhh,” he cleared his throat. “Is everybody here?”

“Yes, oh my god, get on with it!” Eva urged. Isak rolled her eyes at her before looking to Even for confirmation, who nodded. 

“It’s a girl,” the green eyed boy said, and he swore they would have complaints from the neighbors by the screams Eva, Noora, Eskild and Magnus let out. 

Everyone else was just as happy. The night quickly dissolved into congratulations and questions and laughter, but both Isak and Even could only think one thing, occasionally sharing glances and kisses and touches, this thought connecting their minds and their hearts and their bodies: it’s a girl, it’s a girl, it’s a girl.


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sORRY THIS IS SHORT like I said I'm at a program thing so I don't have much time annddd yeah

Chapter 8

When Isak opened his eyes, it was dark out. The sun hadn’t yet risen. He was on his back, too far away from Even for his liking, so he rolled over and curled into the older boy’s side. Even subconsciously moved around him, and Isak drifted back to a gentle sleep.

The sound of his phone woke him. 

By this time it was bright, and Even was out of bed already.

His phone was ringing loudly, right by his ear, too. Grabbing it blindly, Isak picked up the call. "Hallo?" 

"Isak?" 

"Jonas?" 

"Are you okay?" 

Rubbing one eye, Isak sat up slightly. "Ja? Why wouldn't I be? What's going on?" 

"Have you seen the news?" Jonas's voice sounded on edge, almost angry. Isak started to get worried. 

"Nei? What's going on, Jonas?" 

"Some guy was beat up for being gay. He's in the hospital now. It was pretty bad. They won't release his name or photos or anything, so I just... I got worried." 

Isak tightened his grip around the phone. Where was Even? For the first time, he noticed that the flat was eerily quiet. "Nei, I'm fine. I was just asleep." 

"Okay. I just needed to make sure." Jonas sounded relieved but still upset. Isak knew what an amazing friend he was being, but he couldn't afford to think about it much right now. Where was Even? 

"Ja, um... I'm good. Thanks for calling."

"Of course. You can go back to sleep if you want." 

"Takk," Isak whispered before hanging up. His whole body was cold, shaky. Where the fuck was Even?

"Evy?" Isak said quietly, standing moving towards the hall. "Baby?" 

There was no response. After a quick sweep of the place, Isak confirmed that the flat was empty. Immediately, he took out his phone 

"Come on, Even, pick up," he mumbled, grabbing the remote with his other hand and turning on the TV. He switched to the local news station. 

"- downtown Oslo, a local gay man has been attacked and threatened at gunpoint, and is now in surgery to try and stop internal bleeding. The man and his partner are regulars of the area, and those who attacked him were shouting protests towards his sexuality, stating that it is a sin and using many homophobic slurs. The perpetrators have been apprehended, and will-" Isak pressed mute. Even hadn't picked up the phone. He called again. 

Even's not gay. You're his emergency contact. If anything happened, somebody would've told you. 

I doubt those fucking guys really care about labels as long as they know he has a boyfriend! And I doubt that they would immediately call you as he's whisked into emergency surgery! 

Isak could feel something inside him getting quicker, faster. It was outside him, too. He suddenly couldn't breathe. Not good for the baby, he thought desperately, holding his stomach and sitting down. He was dizzy, nauseous. Call Even again. 

For a third time, the older boy didn't pick up. "Halla, this is Even! I'm a little busy right now, but I'll-" Isak ended the call. He sat still for a second. Now everything was too slow outside of him, inside was spinning, spinning and he couldn't catch up. 

After a beat, he stood. Go to the hospital. If he's there, you have to be there. 

Isak grabbed his keys and rushed towards the door. He took out his phone again as he hurried down the stairs, breath coming shorter and shorter. 

Isak: WHERE ARE YOU

Isak: Baby please respond 

Rushing out of the building, Isak began to run down the street, but, as soon as he turned the first corner, he ran smack into somebody. 

Dazed, he took a step back, and looked up at his glowing boy, his Even. They were both silent; shocked. And then Isak was crying, tears just barely spilling over his eyes, and throwing himself towards Even. "Where did you go?!" he all but screamed, wrapping his arms tight around the other boy's middle. "Where the fuck were you, Even?!"

"Baby, you need to get inside, oh my god," Even was saying over him, suddenly prying Isak off of his waist and trying to drag him towards the house. It was snowing, Isak realized, pretty heavily. He was in nothing but his sweats and a tshirt. 

He let himself be pushed into the building, shoved up the stairs and into their tiny foyer. His mind was numb. 

"Where did you go?" he asked again, quieter this time. 

"I was just picking up some groceries, baby," Even replied, clearly confused and oh so worried. He had grocery bags in his gloved hands. Isak should've known. 

And suddenly he was angry, because they weren't supposed to leave each other. "How could you do that to me?!" he demanded, crying harder now. He felt small. "How could you do that, Even?!" 

And he knew somewhere that he was overreacting, being unreasonable. He knew that Even probably had no idea what was going on, what had happened, but he was hormonal and panicked and Even had left without telling him, and then he hadn't picked up the phone and Isak had thought he was dying in surgery. How could he do that?

"Issy, I don't-" 

"We tell each other when we leave! We tell each other!" He stomped his foot like a petulant child. "I called and called but you didn't answer!"

Even looked like he had absolutely no idea what to do. Bringing his hands to his face, Isak started to full on sob, drowning, choking on it. "Oh my god, I thought it was you," he breathed in between trembles. 

Suddenly he felt warmth envelop him. Even squeezed their bodies tight together, holding on like his life depended on it. "Baby, baby, I'm here. Okay? I'm here. Breathe with me. In and out. Just breathe." 

"I thought it was you, Evy, I thought-" Isak sobbed, hugging back, and Even shushed him. 

"Just breathe." He rubbed up and down Isak's back, his shoulders. "I'm here now." 

As the younger boy's crying slowly, slowly hiccuped to a stop, Even tried to wrap his mind around what had just happened. "What's going on, sweetheart?" he mumbled into Isak's ear. "Talk to me." 

Heaving out a heavy, shaky sigh, Isak pulled away. He walked Even to their bedroom, turning on the TV. 

"- say he has a long and hard recovery ahead of him. The perpetrators are now in questioning, sourcing their Catholic beliefs as the foundation of their attack. More information will be in shortly." As it cut to the blonde lady in the studio, Isak repeated done of Sana's words in his head. Hate doesn't come from religion; it comes from fear. Hate doesn't come from religion, it comes from fear. The blonde lady was quiet for a beat as her coworker's audio came through her headset, and then she was saying, "Well, Jon, I'm just sad that, even in 2019, there are still people attacking others for their sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, and so forth. We're almost a fifth into the twenty first century, people, we need to start-" Even muted the TV. 

"Somebody was attacked for being LGBT?" he asked quietly. 

"They said a gay man in downtown Oslo was attacked and threatened at gunpoint. They wouldn't release a name or photos, and gay, pan, whatever- it's all the same to those people. And then you weren't picking up and- and-" Isak felt himself getting worked up again. Even pulled him tight, dragged them both down so that they were laying on the bed. 

"I'm so sorry, sweet boy, I'm so sorry." 

Isak curled his fingers through Even's shirt. "Don't leave me," he whispered, because he could almost taste his fear. 

"Never. Never, baby. I'm so sorry."

Isak sniffed, burrowing deeper into him. "It wasn't your fault. I'm not mad." His heart hurt. "I'm sorry for yelling. I just- I got so scared. I shouldn't have yelled at you. 

"No, sweetheart, don't apologize," Even said, and Isak sniffed again. 

"You neither," he said softly. Even hummed, holding him tighter. 

After a long while passed, he shifted. "We need to get you out of these wet clothes, angel."

He was right. The cuffs of Isak's sweatpants were soaked through, his shirt was clinging and his whole body felt that numb sort of cold. Even stood and Isak sat up. "What if it happens to one of us?" he whispered. He felt his eyes well up with tears again, looking down at his tummy. "What if it happens to her?" 

Even grabbed a hoodie and took Isak tshirt off over his head. After that, he took the smaller boy's face between his hands. "I promise you, that will not happen."

Isak didn't look away. "You can't promise that." 

After a moment, Even nodded. "You're right. But I can promise that I will do everything I can possibly do to prevent that. And so will you." Isak nodded back. "And if that ever does happen, universe forbid, then we will get back up and keep going. And we'll just keep on saving each other, okay?" 

Isak let out a trembling breath. "Okay." 

Smiling bittersweetly, Even continued to change Isak, tugging off his sweatpants and grabbing a warm, dry pair. He pulled a pair of fuzzy socks into his boy's feet before betting beside him in bed. Isak was staring at the TV. They were showing pictures of the victim, face pixelated out. It was an ugly sight. Even changed the channel. "Put something nice on, sweetheart, I'll be back in a sec-" he tried to stand, moving to put away the groceries, but Isak grabbed his arm as if it were his only anchor to reality. 

"Don't leave, Evy, I'm scared-" he started crying again, and Even smoothed back his hair. 

"It's okay, sweet boy, it's okay. Just let me go put away the stuff that needs to go in the fridge. It will be one second, okay?" 

Isak gave a slow, reluctant nod. Even nodded back, giving him a quick kiss before rushing to put the stuff away. It didn't take long. When he got back, Isak was curled into bed, absolutely buried in pillows and blankets. Some shitty comedy was on the TV, but he didn't seem to be watching. Even clambered in beside him, making room for himself in the blanket nest, and Isak whined, burrowing himself into the older boy's side. It was warm in there, almost too warm, but Even didn't dare move. 

"Does it scare you?" Isak whispered softly. Even found his hand, laced their fingers together. 

"Of course." 

Nodding slightly, Isak squeezed his hand. "It scares me, too." 

And, for now, that was enough comfort for both of them. It would have to be. 

The day seemed like it was meant to be a lazy one; a soft one. Isak didn’t feel much like moving and Even certainly wasn’t going to leave him. They watched a few movies, and Isak drifted in and out of sleep. He was so tired all the time. Even kept both arms around him, pulling the younger boy deeper into the crook of his neck. When Isak woke again, he would wiggle away slightly so he could look up at Even, kiss him. “Hei.”

“Hei,” Even whispered back. He pushed back some of Isak’s soft curls. “You okay?”

Isak nodded subtly, barely even there. “Okay. Just breathe, baby. In and out.”

There was a while of more quiet. “What do you want to do?” Isak asked eventually. 

Even sighed. “Let’s just stay in bed, okay?”

Humming, Isak nodded. “But I have to get up to grab something to eat,” he mumbled. Even sighed. 

“I can get it, baby.”

“Nei, it’s fine,” and then Isak was struggling out of his blanket nest, trying to walk to the kitchen. Even knew he felt bad for getting so upset this morning. Even felt bad for this morning, too. 

Isak came back with a buffet of food for them both. They ate mostly silently, watching TV. Both there phones were left wherever they’d last put them down. Even fed Isak a few bites, smiling down at him. “I love you so much, angel,” he murmured, pressing a fluttering kiss into the younger boy’s neck. Isak looked up at him with doe eyes, all serious. 

“I love you, too.”

Once their food was finished, Even set the plates down on the ground and pulled Isak close to him again. “Are you still shaken up from earlier?” he asked. 

“Are you?” Isak replied, looking up earnestly. Even pursed his lips. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

“I just… how can we… bring her into a world, where she might…” Isak said softly, sentences broken. 

“Because we have to,” Even replied just as softly. “If black slaves in America stopped having children because of the world they were giving them, think of how much culture would’ve been lost. We can’t let… hate and fear stop us from making something amazing.” 

Isak smiled weakly as Even rested one hand over his tummy. “She’s kicking,” he said, looking down, but when he looked back up Even’s face was pale. “Evy?”

“I felt- I felt sort of a- tremble. I thought it was nothing, but-”

When what he was saying dawned on Isak, the younger boy’s face lit up. “You can feel her moving?!”

“I think… I think so.”

“It’s been stronger lately,” Isak nodded, slotting their legs together. He held Even’s hand firm to his stomach until she kicked again. They made eye contact, both knowing what they’d felt. 

“Oh my god,” Even whispered, staring down again. “She’s moving in there.”

“Yeah. Yeah, she is.”

“You’re so strong, little one,” Even cooed wetly. Isak smiled, letting out a tiny laugh. Even had been waiting for this for so long. He deserved it so much. 

“I’m so happy, Evy,” Isak mumbled as Even continued to talk to his stomach. He felt himself drifting again- the stress of the morning had really worn him out- and let himself be soothed to sleep by the sound of Even’s gentle voice. 

 

The evening was yellow in a way that made Isak want to go outside. “Come on, look at the sunset,” he was saying, tugging at Even’s arm.

“Are you sure you want to go out, though?” the older boy asked, frowning, still stuck on the image of Isak’s panicked face, body bare against the cold. 

“Yeah, I want to take a walk. I’m all cramped.”

“Okay,” Even said reluctantly. He stood up from bed and moved some of Isak’s hair away from his face before walking them both to their foyer and grabbing a hoodie, a coat, a hat, gloves and a scarf and handing the pile to Isak, who rolled his eyes but still put them on. 

Once they were outside, Isak took Even’s arm and held it. He hummed, shutting his eyes against the cool of the snow, face peaceful. Even watched him. 

“Fuck this world,” Isak said after a beat. He started walking, making Even follow. “Fuck people who hurt other people for no reason.”

Even nodded. Isak finally opened his eyes, looking up. “We’re gonna take it minute by minute, right? And if anything happens to… any of us, we’ll just take it minute by minute?”

He looked vulnerable and strong and young and brave all at once. Even turned and pressed a kiss to his forehead, smoothing out the lines. “Minute by minute.”


	9. Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SORRY AGAIN THIS IS SHORT AHH but I'm still at the program, I promise I'll be normal once I'm out next sat

Chapter 8

“Oww,” Isak whined, folding in on himself and holding both hands over his heart. “Even? I’m dying.” 

His voice was muffled and Even couldn’t help but smirk, reaching out and threading his fingers through the younger boy’s hair as he continued doing his homework. He hummed, nodding once. 

“Even!” Isak snapped, pressing against his chest harder. “I am dying!”

“Okay, baby,” he nodded again. 

“I’m going to diee, it’s not okayyy!”

“If I promise you that you’re not going to die, then is it okay?”

“I AM going to die!!”

“Isak!” Even laughed, pushing his shoulder lightly so make him sit up. “You’re okay. You’re gonna be fine, okay? Just,” he pushed his laptop aside, “just come here, sweetie.”

Isak harrumphed, squirming to lay his head face-down in Even’s lap. “My heart is burning, Even. And my throat. I can’t swallow. But I’m hungry all the time.”

“Have you ever heard of soup?”

“Stop being mean!” Isak groaned, snaking his arms around Even’s waist and squeezing. 

“Baby. I can make you soup. But you’re not dying, okay? I promise. I can make you a smoothie, too. And you can take painkillers.”

“No, it might hurt the baby!” 

“You’re right,” Even nodded, still petting at his hair. “But soup and smoothies won’t.”

Isak huffed. “I can’t move. You’ll have to get up for me.”

“Mmhmm.” 

“My back hurts.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Why does everything hurt, Evy?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart.”

Groaning, Isak squeezed him tighter. “Don’t make soup,” he said. 

“Don’t make soup?” Even repeated. 

“Just stay with me.”

“I have homework, baby,” the older boy laughed, gently twirling one golden curl around his finger. “I can make you soup, but I can’t just lay here.”

Isak gave a big huff, body deflating. “I want you to do your homework,” he said, voice cracking, body still in the most ridiculous position. “But I also want you to cuddle me.”

Even laughed, finally unlatching Isak’s arms from his waist and sitting him up, just so he could lay them both back down. “Here,” he said, pulling the smaller boy into his arms and tucking his head under his chin. “Try to fall asleep, sweetie, okay?”

Isak didn’t reply, only shut his teary eyes and nuzzled against Even’s collarbones. He was out cold in a few minutes, and Even lightly kissed his forehead before sitting up and grabbing his laptop. 

His mom chose that moment to text him. Of course. 

Mama: Hei sweetheart, how are things? How is Isak?

Even: Everything’s good mama!

Mama: good:) how is our little girl? 

Even: she’s good mama

Mama: Are you busy baby?

Even: I’m just doing homework

Mama: Okay. I just wanted to tell you to make sure Isak’s comfortable. He’s in a lot of pain a lot of the time, more than you might realize. I remember you made me feel like I was dying!

Even: I will mama<3

Mama: Good:) I love you baby

Even: love you too!

After putting down his phone, Even finally got back to his homework. He was busy a lot lately, and he felt bad leaving Isak home alone all the time, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He just needed to make everything the best it could be for the baby. 

A few quiet hours passed- Even made lunch for himself, finished his assignments, and tidied up a bit, before sitting back down. Isak had rolled onto his back at some point. Gently, he pushed up the smaller boy’s shirt and looked at his growing tummy. Over his hips, there was a succession of tiny purple stretch marks. Isak had yet to notice them- he couldn’t see down there all that well- and Even worried about what his reaction would be when he finally did. Leaning down, Even pressed a gentle kiss below his belly button. “Halla, little one,” he said softly, leaning away again. “Dada’s asleep right now, so I get some time with you to myself. I love you so much, you know that? You’re just the best thing in the world.” He smiled so wide he could barely talk for a beat. “Oh, we’re so excited to really meet you, sweetheart. You have no idea. We’re gonna find the most perfect home, and you’re gonna be so happy. We’re going to do our best to make you the happiest little girl in the world. We’re gonna show you all the best movies-”

“Not until she’s old enough to form her own opinions on them and not just parrot you,” Isak mumbled with a sleepy smile. Even looked up at him, surprised and grinning, before crawling over him and pressing a quick kiss to his waiting mouth. 

“Oh, she is so going to parrot me,” he said smugly once he pulled away, collapsing down beside Isak. The green eyed boy huffed. 

“Yeah, right. She’ll have much better taste than you.”

Gasping in not-so-mock offense, Even pulled back. “I’m hurt, baby!” he exclaimed, and Isak giggled, reaching over to rest one hand on the side of his face. 

“It’s okay. She’ll still love Baz Luhrmann. Of course she’ll love Romeo and Juliet. Not until she’s old enough to know that not all stories end like theirs, though,” he said, smiling softly. Even smiled back, raising his eyebrows. 

“How do some stories end?” he asked, and Isak’s face softened further. 

“They don’t.”

 

They were still laying in bed a while later when Isak suddenly groaned. “I’m starving,” he said. “Like, about to die of starvation.”

Laughing, Even peppered kisses all over his face before hopping up to make his man some dinner. Isak slowly followed him, one hand cradled under his stomach and the other pressed to his back. Once he got to the kitchen, he leaned against the counter, too tired to get up on it. It was almost seven, and, once it hit the hour, Even’s little alarm went off and he disappeared to the bathroom for a minute to take his meds. Once he came back, he continued making Isak’s soup. Isak hummed, watching him. “Evy?” he asked after a beat. 

“Hm?”

“I’m so fucking proud of you, baby.”

Looking up, Even gave an almost disbelieving little smile. Isak walked to him and kissed him. 

 

The next day, Isak was looking at himself in the mirror. His hips were fucked up. There were little purple zigzags covering them- stretch marks. The thought made him pout. 

He wasn’t sure if Even had seen them, yet. He wondered what the older boy would think. 

Instead of worrying, he got in the shower. After a few beats, he heard Even get home from work and enter the bathroom. “Can I join?” he asked, and Isak could see the shadow of him taking off his shirt from outside the curtain. He thought about the stretch marks. No time like the present. 

Once Even got in the shower, he looked his boy over once before grabbing him by the hips and kissing him. That was done, so he moved away to grab the conditioner. Isak watched nervously, waited for something, but nothing came. 

“How was work?” he finally asked. 

“Good!” Even replied cheerily, lathering up his hair. He turned it into one spike and left it there like a shark fin. “How was your day?”

Isak leaned against the wall. “Good, too- oh. She’s kicking.”

Literally dropping the conditioner bottle (“You’re so extra, Evy.”) he moved to place both hands over Isak’s stomach, face bursting into a smile. 

 

Once they got out, Even went to start dinner. Isak sat at the kitchen table with one of his many books, lazily leafing through it, when suddenly Magnus texted him. 

Magnus: brooo

Magnus: what’s up? I haven’t seen you in forever!!

Isak: we saw each other two weeks ago Mags

Magnus: it’s been two weeks too long

Magnus: how is everything?

Magnus: evak?

Magnus: baby evak?

Isak: all is well

Magnus: Good! What about the baby shower? I think it’s normal to do it soonish, right?

Isak: whenever you can is great, mags, you don’t even need to do this at all

Magnus: jokes on you, I absolutely need to do this

Magnus: you’re my brotp and my otp!

Magnus: the ultimate combo!!

 

Magnus: you should name your baby after me

Isak: magda?

Magnus: yass

Isak: noo

Isak: sorry bro, we’re naming her faina

Magnus: that’s sick!!

Magnus: where did even get that?

Isak: how do you know I didn’t think of it?

Magnus: lol

Isak: fuck you

Isak: he got it from a book

Magnus: cool

Magnus: talk to you later, my roommate wants to go out for beer or something

Isak: chill

Isak: talk to you soon

Isak smiled at the thought of all the effort Magnus was putting into the baby shower. He was such a sweet guy. 

Suddenly, the green eyed boy felt that familiar fluttering feeling against his stomach. “Kicking,” he announced, and Even put down the spatula and walked over to feel. Isak watched the huge smile bloom across his face, and couldn’t help but think that his boy was the sweetest of all.


	10. Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS THE SECOND TO LAST ANGSTY CHAP I HAVE PLANNED, SO THERE'S A LOT OF FLUFF COMING UPPP<3333 sorry that this is a bit of a downer but I'M BACK SO GET HYPE

Chapter 10  
“Even,” Isak called from bed, scrolling through his laptop. 

“Yeah, baby?”

“We should start coming up with a birth plan.”

“A what?”

“A birth plan,” Isak repeated seriously, looking up with shimmery green eyes. 

“I think the plan is you have the baby,” Even said, laughing. Isak did not laugh. 

“Even, when I go into labor, what will we do?”

“What do you mean?” Even asked, genuinely curious now. “You’re only six months along, sweetheart.”

“Exactly,” Isak nodded. “Six months is when you’re supposed to come up with a birth plan. Just in case something goes wrong, we need to be ready. And if nothing goes wrong, we’re still gonna need to be ready.” 

“So what do we need to plan?” asked Even, sitting beside his boy and tugging him into his side. Isak sighed, curling closer to him. 

“We need to figure out who’s gonna drive. I’ll need to pack a bag at some point, so we’ll have to figure what’ll be in there. We need to figure out who’ll be allowed in the delivery room, And… other stuff.” Isak furrowed his brow, pouting. Even waited for him to continue, a smile blooming over his face, before nudging his shoulder. 

“Other stuff?” he asked, tilting his head. 

Isak nodded slowly. “Other stuff.” He blinked. “I, um… I don’t know.”

“Did you forget?” Even laughed. Isak flushed. 

“Nei!” he shook his head vehemently. 

“You absolutely forgot,” Even continued laughing, tugging Isak closer to him. He smiled when Isak buried his face in the crook of the older boy’s neck. 

“You’re so mean,” he mumbled, tangling their legs together. Even kissed the side of his head. 

“Is that why you forgot the keys this morning?” he asked softly, and Isak huffed. “And the peanut butter in your sandwich?”

“Stop bullying me,” Isak whined, tightening his arms around Even’s waist. “I can’t remember anything.” 

“Aww, baby, why didn’t you mention it?” Even cooed. 

“It’s embarrassing,” Isak mumbled. Even tugged so that Isak was lying in between his legs, back against his chest. 

Stroking his hair, Even hummed. “Why are you ever embarrassed around me, silly boy?”

Isak snorted, latching Even’s hands around his tummy like a seatbelt. “Because I can no longer functionally make a sandwich?” he asked, leaning his head back against Even’s shoulder. The older boy laughed, tightening his grip slightly. 

“I can make all your sandwiches from now on,” he mumbled into Isak’s neck, pressing a small kiss there. Isak let out a long breath.

“Can you also make carry my keys around? And help me make a birth plan?” 

Even chuckled. “Anything for you, sweetie.”

Isak let out a quiet breath, tilting his head slightly and giving Even more exposure to his neck. Even laughed against it, kissing again, and then sucking a soft bruise there. “You’re so cute,” he said softly. “What do you want, angel?”

“I want you to come up with a birth plan,” Isak replied, squirming as Even gently grazed his earlobe with his teeth. 

“That’s all you want?” he asked quietly, moving his hands from Isak’s tummy down lower, slipping his fingers under the waistband of the smaller boy’s boxers. 

Isak made a small noise, shutting his eyes. “Stop teasing,” he softly demanded. 

“You’re the one who’s still talking about birth plans,” Even laughed, and Isak huffed quietly. He put his hand over Even’s and shoved them both deeper into his boxers. 

Suddenly, though, there was a knock at the door, making them both jolt. Even stood after a beat, gently shifting Isak off of him, and the younger boy reached for a shirt. Jogging lightly to the door, Even disappeared from sight. 

He rounded the corner and swung open the front door. “Halla?”

The guy standing there was wearing a fedex uniform. He smiled at Even. “Hei.” Holding out a package and the thingy to sign, he waited patiently. 

Even hastily took the pen and signed, and then grabbed the package. “Takk,” he nodded, and the guy nodded back and walked off. Confused, Even looked at the package. 

“Baby?” he called. 

“Hm?”

“Did you order something?” 

Isak rounded the corner in a giant tshirt, curious. “Nei?”

Walking over to him, Even gently threaded their fingers together and lead them back towards bed. As soon as they were situated, Isak tore the tape from the box and started opening it. After removing a bunch of bubble wrap, he several things. There was a thick manilla envelope, a rattle, some little plastic toys, and some old baby clothes. Isak stared at them for a while. “Did your parents send this?” he asked, turning to look at Even, who shook his head. 

“I don’t think so. They would’ve mentioned it.” He smiled. “Are you sure you didn’t order it and forget?”

Scoffing, Isak turned back and opened the envelope. Inside, there was a thick stack of photos, all of him. They started when he was a baby, just born, and the last one was from when he was six or seven, long curly hair and all. “What the fuck?” Isak said, leafing through them, while Even immediately squealed and grabbed the pile. While he was freaking out, Isak looked in the envelope again and found a note. 

Isak,  
Mama told me the news. Here are some things I thought you might want that I’ve been holding onto. I love you, kiddo, and I’m sorry. Call me if you want.   
Pappa.

Isak frowned at the note, blinking a few times to ensure he wasn’t about to cry. Noticing this immediately, Even turned and read the note. “Oh, baby,” he sighed afterwards, reaching over to pull Isak onto his chest. “You don’t have to call,” he mumbled into the younger boy’s hair. 

“I know,” Isak nodded, clenching his jaw. “I know.”

They were both quiet for a while. “These were yours?” Even asked after a beat, and Isak nodded. 

“I didn’t know he held onto any of my old things,” he said quietly. 

“He does love you, sweetheart, even if he’s fucked up a lot,” Even replied. Isak sniffed. 

“Should I call him?”

“Not if you don’t want,” Even shook his head. “Whatever you feel comfortable with.”

Isak took a deep breath. “I can’t ever forgive him,” he said softly. He looked up at Even. “What he said about you… Jesus fuck, I can’t-”

“Hey, shh, baby boy. It’s okay. This isn’t about me. If you want to call him, you call him. It’s up to you. And sweetheart, what he said about me isn’t why I’m mad at him. I’m mad at him for all the times he hurt you, angel, okay? If you want to call, you call.”

Isak didn’t say anything. “I don’t know,” he finally sighed, brow still furrowed, looking down at the note. “Let’s just- I don’t want to think about it right now.”

“Okay,” Even nodded. He brushed at some of Isak’s hair- it was always so soft, damn. “Whatever you want, sweetheart, okay?”

“Mmhmm,” Isak replied. They were quiet for a few seconds before he reached for the stack of photos. “What did he send?”

“These are fucking precious,” Even laughed, handing them over so they could look through together. “You never told me you had such long hair.”

Snorting, Isak pulled out a picture of him, two horribly done braids sticking out from either side of his head with Jonas behind him, both of them sticking out their tongues. “He wanted to surprise his sister by learning how to braid so I was his practice dummy,” he told Even, who laughed. “Oh god, he was so mad when I cut it all off.”

“Mad?”

“Yeah, he was livid. He loved my hair.”

Even laughed louder at this. “Why?”

Isak’s smile faltered slightly. “Honestly? Everyone used to make fun of him because of his hair and his eyebrows- he was the only hispanic kid in the class and practically everyone was blond- and then, when I moved, they started making fun of my hair because it was so ‘girly,’ so we bonded over that.”

“Aww, babies,” Even pouted. “Both of you have such nice hair, fuck those kids.”

“Fuck their parents,” Isak said, shaking his head. “They’re the ones who raised the kids to be shitty.”

“That’s true.”

“But then Jonas became cool, and everyone stopped making fun of him. That was good.”

“How’d he become so cool?”

“He was the first boy in our grade to get a girlfriend.”

“Ingrid?”

“Mmhmm. And then Sara got a boyfriend, too. That was when Eva came. And so it was always me and Eva left behind, so we became friends. Original buds. Which was probably why it was so easy to convince her I only messed with her and Jonas’s relationship because I was in love with her. I was always following her around anyway.”

“You convinced her what?” Even was laughing, smiling down at his boy, who rolled his eyes. 

“She found out… everything I did and she asked why and I- I asked her if she really didn’t know. I meant because I liked Jonas, and I… I was honestly just so tired of… lying all the time. So I figured I’d just tell her. But then she asked if I had feeling for her and I was… I saw a way out, I guess. So I took it. And- yeah. She believed me pretty willingly. I was pretty desperate back then,” he smiled, but Even wasn’t laughing anymore. 

“Hey, Issy?” he asked quietly after a beat. Isak looked up at him. 

“Ja?”

“You know you’re not that person anymore, right?”

Isak blinked. The smile slowly faded from his face. “Do you really believe that people change?”

Rubbing up and down his arm, Even took a long breath. “I think people grow up.” 

“But I- I…” he looked at the picture of him and Jonas, which he was still holding and sighed. “Yeah. You’re right.”

Even was suspicious of this easy acceptance, but also grateful, so he just kissed Isak’s forehead. “What do you wanna do?”

Isak was quiet for a moment. “Can you go get those sandwiches from that place I like?”

“Of course,” Even nodded, wiggling out from underneath him and grabbing his sweatshirt. “What kind do you want?”

“Surprise me,” Isak mumbled. “I think I’m gonna- I think I’m gonna call my dad while you’re out.”

Pausing, Even sat back down. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”

“Yeah, I- I just think if you’re here- I’ll just get mad and I won’t be able to listen,” Isak said softly. 

Even nodded. “Okay, baby. Call me if you want me to come home.”

“Okay.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Evy.”

Leaning forward, Even brushed their lips together, and then he was up and walking towards the door, wallet in hand. 

As soon as he was gone, Isak took out his phone. He was still leafing through the pictures as he dialed. His dad picked up pretty fast. 

“Pappa?”

“Isak,” he heard him sigh, as if relieved. “I- did you get my package?”

Balling the sheets in his fists, Isak nodded even though he knew his dad couldn’t hear him. “Yeah.”

“Great. I’m glad… I’ve just had that stuff up in the attic, and I figured…”

“Pappa?”

“Ja?”

Staring down at the bed, Isak put one hand over his tummy. “Why did you want me to call?”

There was staticy silence. “I- I miss you, Is. And I- I want…”

“Want what?”

“I want us to have a relationship.”

“Why?”

He heard a sigh across the line. “I love you, Isak.”

Suddenly, Isak felt something panicky swallow him alive, and before he knew what was happening, he felt himself start to cry. “Then why did you do it?”

For a while, there was nothing. “Why did I do what?”

“Why did you leave? How could you leave? And why- how could you say those things about Even? And mama? And how- why- what did I do wrong?” he managed, voice broken in a way that he hated. “Everyone says it wasn’t my fault,” he choked. “So… why do I still feel this way?” 

Outside, a car rattled by, and somebody kicked a can. Isak took a shaky breath. 

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart, I’m sorry,” he heard his dad mumble, which made his heart sink. “It wasn’t your fault. Everyone who says that is right, okay? It was never your fault.”

“I was begging you not to go,” Isak continued, “and you just shoved me away, and I don’t understand how you could- I already love her so much and- was I bad? Was that why? Because I tried so hard, but I couldn’t keep everyone together, and I-” 

“It was never your fault, Isak, okay? Never. You were so good, so sweet and gentle and kind. It was just… it was me. And mama. I wasn’t able to love her. And whether or not that had to do with her illness, I… I don’t think I would’ve loved her either way.”

“Then how could you say what you said about Even? How could you do that? You know I can’t forget that, pappa. I could forget everything else, but not that.” Isak picked at the scab on his ankle until it broke and bled. When he didn’t get a response, he continued. “Even says people grow. Which is why I called. But I just need to know why.”

Somebody in the flat above walked by. “I was hurt, Isak,” his dad finally sighed. “And so became angry.”

“Why were you hurt?”

“Because I felt like you’d been lying to me. You’d been together for a year and half- you lived together, for Christ’s sake. I was trying so hard to rebuild our relationship, and things were going well, but then… I mean, how many times did you cancel on me because Even was depressed? I know how many times you lied, Isak. I remember how scared you were, too, all those times he was manic. And I didn’t know what was happening, or how to help. If you had just told me, we could’ve… I could’ve tried to help.”

“But look what happened when I did tell you!” 

“I know. I was mad and scared, and I turned cruel because of it, and I’m so sorry. But I just- I was angry. And I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“You were the one who hurt me, pappa! It was you! Mama scared me, but you are the only one who has ever broken me like that!” Isak spat. 

There was a long, long silence. “I know,” his dad finally said. “And I’m sorry. I wish I could go back and fix it all. But I can’t. But… it’s my granddaughter, Isak. And I know you probably don’t want me in your life, but I- I had to try. And I promise that I’m going to keep trying. With you and Even, and the baby. If you’ll let me.”

Isak opened and closed his mouth. He wanted to hang up or tell his dad to fuck off, he wanted to scream, but instead he just opened and closed his mouth. “Pappa?” he finally said. 

“Yeah?”

“Could I call you back later? I just don’t think I can- I don’t know what to do.”

“Of course, Isak. I don’t- I want you to… I don’t to hurt you ever again. So if you don’t want to call back, then just… that’s fine. I just had to try.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. I love you, sweetheart.” He heard his dad’s voice crack. Isak took a sharp breath. 

“I gotta go.” He quickly, shakily ended the call and then laid back in bed, practically gasping for air. “Fuck, I’m sorry,” he said to the baby, who was suddenly moving. “It’s okay. I’m okay, sweet girl. I’m sorry, baby.” 

But she wouldn’t stop moving, filling him with flutters and sharp kicks. She was upset. Isak knew it. And he was why. Taking deep breaths, he rested both hands over his navel and blinked as tears slowly leaked from the corners of his eyes. “I’m sorry, baby,” he repeated. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay.” He was still crying, trying desperately to stop. It’s scaring her, he thought, and the idea made him feel sick. “Everything’s fine.”

That’s how Even found him when he got back. Laying in bed, eyes squeezed shut, trying to stop his tears from getting out and whispering over and over, “I’m sorry, sweet girl, it’s fine.”

“Issy?” Even said quickly, setting down their lunch and walking over to him, sliding into bed and pulling the younger boy onto his chest. This made Isak start to cry with renewed energy, sobs ripping through him. 

“No, stop, stop,” he said, panicked, trying to squirm away. But Even held him tight. “I’m scaring her, Even, I’m scaring her already, I-”

“Shhh, baby, breathe with me. We need to get you breathing right,” Even said. Isak’s “deep breaths” hadn’t been very deep after all- he was practically hiccupping, erratic and unsteady. He situated them so that their hearts were basically pressed together, as difficult as that was, and rubbed wide circles over Isak’s back, pressing gently. “In and out. Everything’s fine.”

He was resting one hand on top of Isak’s and he couldn’t feel whether the baby was moving or not, so, if so, it must have been minimal. “She’s fine, okay? She’s okay.”

“She’s scared, Even, she keeps moving and-”

“She’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

After a long time, Isak managed to calm down. And then, like always, once his heart stopped racing and the adrenaline stopped flowing, he felt like he’d been hit by a truck. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, and Even shook his head. 

“Don’t be sorry. What happened, baby?”

“I just… my dad kept… I don’t know. I haven’t heard his voice in so long and it just… I just got scared. And then I was scaring her and hurting her, and I- I can’t break her like he did. I can’t.”

“You won’t, angel, you won’t. You could never.”

“But I-”

“But nothing, okay? You will never break her. You already love her so much and you- you are so strong, sweet boy. I wish I could make you see that, I wish I could help you.”

Isak was still laying on his chest. He curled his fingers through the older boy’s shirt. “You do help me. So much.”

“But I wish I could just… it makes me so mad that he made you feel like you shouldn’t be loved or that you can’t love.”

At this, Isak let out a quiet sound, tears rushing his eyes again, because he’d never been able to put it into words. Even hummed, smoothing back his hair. “I’m so sorry, angel. I love you so much, though, and you love me and you love our baby and she loves you. You’re so good, okay?”

“He wasn’t mad, Even. Or mean. I just… I just got scared.”

“That’s okay. You’re allowed to be scared.”

Taking a deep breath, Isak fluttered shut his eyes. “Even?” he asked after a beat.

“Yeah?”

Isak tried to think of something to say, but he just started crying again. “He wants to be in her life and I don’t know what to do.”

Pulling him tighter, Even sighed. “Not right now, baby, okay? We don’t need to think about that right now. We have time, okay? I just need you to calm down.”

By the time Isak did calm down, it was dusky out. “I’m hungry,” he whispered tiredly. He didn’t sound hungry, though. He sounded empty.

“I’ll get the sandwiches,” Even replied quickly, standing and grabbing their food. He quickly brought it in and sat back down. Isak dragged himself into a sitting position. 

They ate slowly, giving the occasional quiet smile. At one point, Even reached into his sandwich and swabbed hummus onto his finger, dotting it on Isak’s squishy nose. The smaller boy rolled his eyes, even harder when Even kissed it away. “You’re such a dork,” he laughed softly, and the sound made Even’s heart lift. 

“You okay, baby?” he asked, tilting his head warmly. Isak smiled. 

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

“Good,” Even smiled. He leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to his boy’s waiting mouth. “I love you so much, angel,” he mumbled. Isak smiled against his lips. 

“I love you, too.”


	11. Eleven

Chapter 11

“Okay. Okay. I’m not worried. I’m fine.”

“I know, baby.”

“Seriously, Even, I’m good. You know what? I’m better than good.”

“I’m glad.”

“Because there’s like, no reason to be nervous. You know? Everything is fine.” Isak continued tapping on the car window. “What could go wrong?”

“Nothing will go wrong, sweetheart,” Even said, reaching over the cupholders and putting one hand on Isak’s knee. 

“Yeah, I know! That’s what I’m saying?! I mean, what even could possibly go wrong?” 

“Exactly.”

“Even! I’m being serious! It’s totally fine! Why are you freaking out like this?!” 

Rolling his eyes, Even pulled over to the side of the road. “Hey, baby?”

“What? Why did you stop?”

Huffing out a breath, Even looked at him with incredulous eyes. “Issy, what is wrong?” 

“I- nothing! I mean, it’s not like we’re gonna be sitting in a room full of judgey straight couples! Being taught at by some lady who might not’ve ever taught a gay couple before! Oh, and it’s not like everyone else there is going to be thirty-five and judging us for that too!” Isak sputtered, flailing his arms around. 

Even raised his eyebrows. “Sweet boy. You are always worrying aren’t you?”

“My worries are perfectly justified in this case, Even. Come on, you seriously think every eye won’t be on us as soon as we walk in the room?” Isak asked, tilting his head. 

Even took a beat to think about this. “Yeah. They probably will. But- I mean- it’s fine, baby. Nobody is going to be rude. I promise. Everyone in there is going to be in the same boat. And maybe we can make some friends for the baby!”

“What?” Isak laughed, and Even pulled away because as long as Isak was laughing he could drive again. 

“I mean, if we make friends with some of the people, then, when they have their kids, everyone can be friends! I mean, who else is she gonna hang out with?” Even said, tapping out a beat against the cup holders. “It’s not like Magnus and his new girlfriend are going to-”

“Don’t even finish that sentence. If I even picture Magnus and that girl going at it, I’m going to die.”

Chuckling, Even leaned over to give Isak a quick kiss on the cheek, since they were pulled up at a stop light. “Keep your eyes on the road, mister,” Isak chastised. 

“Yes, sir,” Even nodded as they started moving. 

 

So Isak was right. The room was full of straight couples, and they were definitely the youngest people there. Except… hm.

Sitting by the window was a girl who looked maybe their age? She could’ve been a bit older or even younger, Isak couldn’t tell, but he could tell that she wasn’t 35, so he nudged Even and titled his head towards her. The two boys made their way across the room. 

“Hei,” Even said as they sat down, all warm smiles. She was alone at the two person desk and the other chair didn’t have a coat or anything on it. When Even spoke, she jumped. 

“Hei!” She blinked big green eyes at them. Isak smiled at her. She had a short, curly brown bob that was pulled messily half back, and a small frame, ignoring her stomach. She looked almost as nervous as he felt. “I’m, um, I’m Viola.”

“I’m Even,” the tall boy said, before turning to his boyfriend.

“Isak.”

Viola tucked her hair behind her ears. “How old are you guys? I’m glad you’re here. Everyone else kept looking at me.”

“I’m twenty-two, Isak’s nineteen.”

“I’m eighteen,” Viola nodded, looking down. A blush spread over her freckled cheeks and she examined her hands very closely. “I, uh…”

“How far along are you?” Even asked when she neglected to pick the sentence up again.

“Eight months,” she said hesitantly. “I- uh… I probably should’ve gone to one of these classes sooner, but,” she shrugged. “How about you?” she gestured towards Isak. 

His eyebrows went up. “Oh, six months. Do you know if they’re a boy or a girl?”

Swallowing, Viola nodded. “She’s a girl.”

“Same. We were actually thinking of naming her Viola, but we aren’t going to. Not because it’s not a lovely name. We just- Even likes this book and-”

Viola gave her first real smile, a big, toothy one, and her two front teeth were gapped, and her cheeks flushed pink and Isak realized that she was really beautiful, especially when she was happy. “It’s chill,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m not gonna get offended that you don’t name your baby after me.”

“Oh, this is awkward, because I was kind of expecting you to name her Isabell now that you met me,” Isak said, tilting his head. 

“Ugh,” Viola said, shaking her head. “What are we gonna do?”

“I mean, I guess this just won’t work out. I mean, if your not naming the baby after me, how can we be friends? It’s just not fucking logical.”

“Ehm, excuse me?” they heard from behind them, disrupting the banter. There was a tall blonde woman, probably one of the older people in the class, with a cross look on her face. Viola, Even and Isak all stared at her as she said, “Could you not use profanity? It’s bad for the fetus.”

So...okay. Um. Even was the first to react. He gave a small shake of his head, smiling. “I think the fetus will be fine, but we’ll tone it down.”

Reaching for Isak’s hand, he turned back around, and the other two followed suit. As soon as enough time had passed, they all exchanged The Look, trying not to giggle. Because if they class already thought they were immature, bursting into childish laughter wouldn’t help their case. 

Just then, the instructor walked in, carrying a bin of baby dolls, a package of diapers, and a lot of confidence. “Hello expecting parents! I am here to proudly welcome you into the most rewarding phase of your life!” she said, setting her things down with a huge smile. Isak had to swallow a groan. This was going to be great. 

 

Two hours and a few diapers later, the instructor was talking about the signs of labor. Even was studiously taking notes, as was Viola, but Isak was just watching the way her mouth moved. It was a very big mouth. Wide. With very big, white teeth. Actually, one of her teeth was smudged red from her lipstick. Isak wondered how that happened. Had he ever seen Noora or Sana with lipstick on their teeth? He couldn’t remember. 

Suddenly, Even nudged him, sliding his notepad across the desk. Isak took it and looked around for anything important. 

At the bottom of the labor indicators, there was one underlined. Isak immediately bit his lip, because of course Even had decided to add EXPLOSIVE DIARRHEA in all caps, just for his own amusement. 

And, really, it shouldn’t have been very funny. It was a poop joke, for god’s sake. But Isak was pregnant and bored out of his mind, and so, because the universe hated him, it was the funniest thing in the world. He was having a very difficult time not cackling, instead sticking his tongue hard against his lips, which were in a tight smile, and silently shaking. He could feel Even doing something similar beside him, equally entertained by the shitty joke, but he could not look at the blue eyed boy, because then he would not be able to control himself. 

Except he wasn’t having the best time controlling himself anyway. Somehow, the longer he laughed, the funnier it became, in that same annoying way that every joke became funnier the longer you sat, trying not to laugh, in a silent classroom. Attempting to be as stealth as possible, Isak brought both hands up over his mouth, trying to ignore the fact that Even was now softly wheezing. 

“Boys!” the teacher snapped suddenly, making them both sit up straighter. Isak tried to take a few deep breaths, smile still pulling at his mouth. “Have I said something funny?” she asked, eyes narrow and pissed off. God, help me, Isak thought. 

“Nei,” he said, shaking his head, but his voice came out all high and squeaky. Clearing his throat, he tried again. “Nei, um, we just thought of something from earlier.”

“Something you would care to share with the rest of the class?” the instructor asked, smiling meanly now. Isak swore, he was going to die today. 

“Um, nei. It’s- it’s an inside thing,” he said, relatively composed, whereas his asshole of a boyfriend wasn’t helping at all. 

His very funny, very caring, very perfect asshole of a boyfriend, who was most definitely going to get them kicked out of class. 

The teacher nodded. “Then I would appreciate if you stop disturbing everyone else with your ‘inside joke.’” Wow, she actually made air bunnies. She was salty. Somebody needed to give her a good cuddle, Isak decided. 

“Yeah, of course,” he nodded. “Sorry.”

She smiled again before returning to class. 

Still not looking at Even, Isak passed back his notebook. Okay. So that was embarrassing. But it was over now, right? The joke wasn’t even that funny to begin with. Isak could definitely survive fifteen more minutes of not laughing his ass off at the world’s dumbest joke. 

But then there was Even. 

Fucking Even.

Isak tensed as soon as it happened. Even let out the tiniest, most miniscule nose laugh. And Isak was dead. 

Standing, the green eyed boy simply walked out of class, as the teacher had told them to do if they needed the bathroom. And yeah Isak had gone to the bathroom twice already, but he had a fucking 20 pound weight pressing on his bladder, and that was absolutely the only reason he was going again, not because he couldn’t contain his laughter at a goddamn poop joke. Anyone who said otherwise could fuck off.

Even watched him leave with a fond little smile, still trying not to laugh himself. But apparently he was better at it than Isak was. 

Oh god, he was such a dick. Isak was going to kill him. And the teacher was going to kill him. And the rest of the class, probably. Because nobody in here had a sense of humor. 

Well, scratch that. There was Viola, who was now looking at him with curious, amused eyes. As soon as the teacher looked away, Even passed the notebook her way. He knew this would get him into even more trouble but this class was boring and he was immature, so whatever. As soon as she read the joke, Viola rolled her eyes and handed it back. Apparently she didn’t find it as funny as he and Isak had, which was honestly unfathomable. 

Isak came back a few minutes later, earning a glare from the instructor, but class was over soon after that, so they didn’t have to suffer much longer. As everyone was packing up, Isak groaned and fell into Even’s side. The older boy immediately wrapped one arm around his shoulders, still gathering their things. Geez, did anyone need this many pamphlets?

“Explosive diarrhea, seriously Evy?” the smaller boy whined, face smushed against Even’s coat. 

Chuckling, Even shook his head. “You know that was the most interesting part of class,” he said. 

“Maybe the most embarrassing part,” Isak mumbled. 

“I seriously don’t get why it was so funny to you two,” Viola said softly, picking up her backpack. 

“It’s this damn boy,” Isak replied, leaning away from Even to hit his chest lightly. “He could make the worst joke in the world and I’d laugh.”

“Clearly,” said Viola, smiling, but Even pouted. 

“That’s so not true, baby,” he protested. Looking towards Viola, the blond boy added, “Sometimes I make the best jokes- mind blowing shit, exquisite puns, just like, amazing material, you know? But he’s so mean to me. He’ll call them stupid!”

Giggling, Isak reached down to take Even’s hand. “They are stupid sometimes. But I still laugh, don’t I?”

Humming, Even tilted his head. “I guess.”

“That’s cuz I love you so much,” Isak said, smiling up at him. Even smiled back, before leaning down to give him the briefest of pecks. Viola cleared her throat. 

“I’m just wondering,” she said, “do you guys have friends? Because that was probably the grossest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Both boys gasped in offense. “I’ll let you know we do have friends,” Isak said. “We have fans, Viola. Have you ever heard of Magnus Fossbakken? He’s about a week away from making a blog in our name.”

Viola was laughing. “Nei, I’ll have to google him,” she said. 

“Yeah, you will,” Isak nodded, mock-serious. “Calling us gross like that. Shame.”

 

As they walked out to the parking lot, Viola and the couple continued talking. “No, I don’t really know what I’ll call her. Probably something pretty traditional. I’m not very creative.”

“You should name her after somebody you look up to if you can’t think of a name,” Even suggested. Viola looked down, a blush creeping over her face. 

“I’d like to name her after somebody strong,” she said softly. 

“If you want to name her after somebody strong, name her Sana. Or Vilde,” Isak said, half serious. Those girls are making me too sappy, he thought to himself afterwards. 

“Who are they?” Viola asked, looking up. 

“Uhm, just friends of ours. But very strong, amazing, beautiful friends. You could also call her Chris or Eva or Noora,” said Isak. 

Viola smiled a quiet smile. “So you do have friends,” she joked. 

“Um, ja? I told you, we’re practically famous.” Isak was swinging Even’s hand back and forth in his own. 

“It’s true. They’re erecting a statue of us outside of our apartment building,” the taller boy nodded solemnly. 

“Well, I’ll be sure to go to the ribbon-cutting ceremony,” Viola said as they got to Even’s parents’ car. 

“Where are you parked?” Even asked, looking around, and Viola flushed again. 

“I, uh… I actually walked.”

Both boys stared at her in what could only be described as horror. “You what?” Isak finally sputtered. 

“It’s really a short walk,” Viola shrugged. “Only five, ten minutes. I-”

“You’re getting in,” Even said, swinging open the door to the backseat. “No way you’re walking anywhere at eight months pregnant.”

“No, I couldn’t-”

“Oh, we’re not leaving until you’ve got a ride, so if you want this to be quick you might as well just take the ride from us,” Isak said, shaking his head. “I promise we won’t murder you or anything. I mean, where would the baby go if we were both in jail?”

Viola opened her mouth and then closed it again. “I… if it’s really no trouble, then…”

“If it’s a ten minute walk, how much trouble could it be?” Even smiled, walking around to get in the other side. 

Soon, everyone was seated, and Viola started giving Even directions. Turns out it was more like a ten minute drive, which made both boys wonder how long it had taken her to walk. They quickly found themselves in a pretty destitute neighborhood. 

“I’m just here,” Viola said, pointing to a giant apartment building. Even pulled over to the side of the road. 

Grabbing her purse, Viola went to leave. “Thank you so much,” she said to the boys. 

“Don’t even think about it,” Even replied, and Isak shook his head in agreement. 

Hesitating, Viola bit her lip. “I… do you want to come up for tea? As a thank you?”

“You don’t need to-”

“No, seriously,” she shrugged. “I would… I’d really love it.”

The boys looked at each other. Isak gave a small nod, and Even smiled. “We’d love it, too,” he said.

 

The apartment was only on the second floor, which was good since the elevator wasn’t working and apparently hadn’t been “since, like, 1977.” It was a two-bedroom space with a kitchen-living room area and a teeny tiny bathroom. Everything was crowded and dingy and the sink was overflowing with dishes. 

“Oh, shoot, sorry,” Viola said, putting down her purse and hurrying over to wash out some mugs. “You guys can sit down,” she gestured to the couch. 

“I can do that,” Even said, following her to the sink. 

“No, don’t be silly. Go sit,” she said, shaking her head. 

“You should sit,” Even argued lightly.

“Seriously, I’m fine. This is- this is actually a friend's place, and he gets very particular about how everything’s done, so I think… I should just do it. You go sit.”

Slowly, Even nodded. He walked to where Isak was seated and sat beside him, wrapping one arm around the smaller boy’s shoulders. Viola continued to rush around the kitchen, quickly finishing the mugs and filling them with water. While they microwaved, she walked to the cabinet. “Do you want something to eat? I have, um…”

They could both see that her shelf of the cabinet, clearly labeled, was basically empty. “I’m not hungry,” Isak shook his head. “I’m actually a bit nauseous, so I think just the tea will be good.”

“Oh, do you want to go home? Don’t feel obligated to stay or anything,” Viola said, nervous. 

Isak smiled. “I’ve been nauseous for six months. Don’t worry about it.”

Smiling back, Viola nodded. Just then, the microwave beeped and the door opened at once. 

A boy walked in, tall and dark, with a girl on his arm. He looked around at the scene. Viola had wide eyes. 

“Christian! Hei! I, uhh… I didn’t know you were coming home so early. This is, um, this is Isak and Even. They’re from my class. Guys, this is Christian.”

Christian shook his head, as if to clear it. “Halla,” he said, nodding and walking to the boys, who both stood. They all shook hands. Gesturing to the girl, he added, “This is Bella.”

“Isak and Even just came up for tea,” Viola said from behind, getting the mugs from the microwave. “If you need the flat…”

“Nei, you’re fine,” Christian shook his head. “I’ll actually make some tea for myself, too.”

“I can do it,” Viola said quickly, turning to wash out another mug, but Christian gently grabbed her arm. 

“Viola, go sit. Seriously.” He turned to Bella. “Do you want any tea, babe?”

“I’m fine,” she shook her head, pulling out one of the chairs at the kitchen table and sitting down on it backwards. 

“So you guys are in class together?” Christian asked as he made the tea, looking around between Viola and the boys. 

“Yeah. We gave Viola a ride home, so she had us up,” Even nodded. 

“You walked to class?” Christian asked Viola. 

She blushed. “There’s no tram that way.”

“You know I can give you cab fare.”

“Nei, it’s not even a far walk.”

They shared a “we’ll talk about this later” look before Christian returned to making the tea. Suddenly Isak realized something. He and Viola had the same green eyes. Maybe he was her brother. 

Soon enough, everyone had their tea. “So how was the class?” Christian asked, sitting down in another kitchen chair, completing the circle. 

“It was good!” Viola said immediately. “It was really informative.”

“We got in trouble,” Isak added, scrunching up his nose. Even laughed. 

“What did you do?” asked Christian, leaning forward. 

“He made a really dumb joke and I couldn’t stop laughing,” Isak replied, nodding towards the taller blond boy, who gasped. 

“It was not dumb! It was incrediably sophisticated humor.”

“It was a poop joke,” Isak said. “The instructor was not happy.”

“My aunt said that when she went to one of those classes, the lady had a stick up her ass the whole time,” Bella chimed in, smiling over the back of her chair, where she’d folded her arms and rested her head. She had long, sunny blonde hair. “She also didn’t even have kids. I don’t get how you get a job like that without kids.”

“Was she old? I feel like a lot of retired teachers do that stuff,” Christian said. Bella rolled her eyes. 

“I don’t know how old she was, dude. I wasn’t there.”

“Well you know about her child rearing life, it’s not that crazy to think you’d know her age,” Christian fired back. Bella rolled her eyes again, harder this time, but didn’t have much of a rebuttal. 

“Our lady had a stick up her butt, too,” Viola said. “So did, like, half the class. Everyone was super old.”

“One woman told me I shouldn’t swear around the fetus,” Isak nodded, and Christian and Bella laughed. 

The conversation was nice, but Isak was tired, as usual, and soon enough he was yawning. “Do you wanna head out, baby?” Even asked while the others were talking. 

Smiling, Isak nodded. 

Even stood. “Alright, we gotta get home. This was really nice, though. Thank you guys for having us.”

“Oh, yeah, anytime,” Viola nodded, standing as well. “I’ll see you next week?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Isak said. He and Even gathered their things. “This was fun.”

“Yeah,” Viola nodded, and there was a sort of relief in her voice of which both boys took note. 

 

Once they were in the car, Isak leaned his head back with a huff. “Nobody told me baby class came with so much socializing,” he said.

Chuckling, Even leaned over and kissed his cheek. “At least now she’ll have a friend!” he said excitedly. 

“Mmhmm. But she’ll be two months younger than Viola’s baby. And being around somebody older than you can get exhausting,” Isak said, earning an offended noise. “Always thinking they’re so mature, and funny, and smart. Oh, and that they have such great taste in music and movies. They’re just pretentious, honestly.”

By this point, Even was staring at him with an incredulous look. After a beat of silence, he raised his eyebrows. “Are you done now?”

“Yeah, I’m done,” Isak nodded. 

“Good,” Even smiled, leaning over to give him a peck on the lips before putting the car into drive and pulling away. 

 

Once they were home, Isak was literally struggling to keep his eyes open. 

“Come on, baby, let’s get you to bed,” Even said, supporting him as they walked through the flat. Once he got the smaller boy to lay down, he immediately pulled off his pants and shirt, leaving him in only boxers. “Try to get some sleep, my love,” he murmured, lifting the comforter and then laying it back down over Isak’s frame. 

As he moved away, though, Isak whined and made grabby hands. “Lay with me,” he demanded sadly. Even rolled his eyes, taking off his own jeans and crawling in bed beside his boy, who immediately curled into his side, impossibly warm and snuggly. 

“What do you think she’s gonna look like?” he asked into Even’s chest. 

“I hope she has your eyebrows. And squishy nose. And your eyes. And your hair,” Even said, running his hands through Isak’s curls. 

“No, she should have your eyes. And your freckles. And of course she’ll have your smile.”

“But your teeth.”

“My teeth?” Isak asked, surprised. “My gappy, weird ass teeth?”

“Your adorable teeth?” Even said, shaking his head. “Baby, they’re so fucking cute it kills me.”

Giggling, Isak reached up and plastered one finger over Even’s mouth. “No swearing in front of the fetus.”

Even kissed his finger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aiywjlkbd OKAY so the explosive diarrhea story is a true story, rip. My mom and dad had my sister when she was 18 and he was 20, and when they were at one of those classes the lady was listing labor indicators and he passed her a note saying explosive diarrhea and it sent her into hysterics and they got in trouble and she calmed down but then he did the nose breath and she had to leave. So I thought I'd throw that in their for authenticity lol. As always, comments make my day!!


	12. Twelve

Chapter 12

“Happy third trimester!” 

This is what Isak woke up to. At, like, a completely not-okay hour of the morning. Actually, it was eleven, as Isak realized upon rolling over towards the clock, but that’s still not fine because he’s six- no, wait, seven months pregnant. 

“Even,” the younger boy groaned, pulling his pillow tighter against his chest. “Too early.”

“Baby, it’s twenty-eight weeks today! Twenty-eight weeks!!” Even collapsed into bed beside him, resting one arm over Isak’s tummy and smattering kisses into the back of his neck. Isak’s mouth curled into a smile as he scrunched his eyes tighter closed. 

“You’re so beautiful,” Even whispered quietly. “Can we believe we’re going to have a baby in twelve weeks?”

“Or sooner,” Isak mumbled. “Could be sooner.”

“I’m so excited, my love,” Even said, almost giggling. Isak squirmed around, resting their foreheads together. 

“Me, too. I’m so incrediably excited,” he beamed, sticking his tongue between his teeth. Even pressed a tiny kiss to his nose before bumping both their noses against each other. 

“How do you feel angel?”

“I feel okay. I think I’m supposed to start waddling soon.”

“Waddling,” Even chuckled, smiling. 

Isak rolled his eyes. “That’s what the websites say. Plus we have to go shopping. For like everything!”

“Baby, we have three more months,” Even shook his head. “We have time, okay?”

“Nei, we have to get a head start,” Isak said. 

Laughing, Even kissed Isak again. “We will do whatever you want, okay, sweet boy?”

Scrunching his nose, Isak smiled. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Of course. Starting with whatever you want for breakfast! Just give me a command,” Even said, tilting his head. 

“Oh, are you my slave for the next three months? Is that what this is now?”

“Absolutely! You’re the king now. Or prince. Or princess. Whatever you want.”

“How about queen?” 

“You want queen?”

“Hmm, how about master?”

“I can call you master.”

“Nei,” Isak shook his head thoughtfully. “I think I like princess.”

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.”

“Okay, princess.” Even smiled, pulling Isak closer by the small of his back and dotting his face in kisses. “My lovely little love.”

“Lips,” Isak pouted as Even continued to miss his mouth. Chuckling, Even obliged, pressing a kiss to his waiting mouth. Isak sighed against him, bringing one hand to the side of Even’s neck. As Even went to pull away, Isak whined, threading their legs together. Even could feel Isak’s hard on pressing into his leg. 

“Baby,” the older boy said softly. “We’re supposed to have a good breakfast.”

“I want you,” Isak said, pulling away to look up at Even with pouty eyes. 

How could he say no? 

As soon as they were getting into it, though, there was a loud knock at the door, followed by an angry “Isak!”

“Ughhh,” Isak groaned, head falling back into the pillow. “Why does everyone hate me?”

“ISAK VALTERSEN!” was heard from the front foyer, and Even chuckled, hopping up and walking out of the room. 

“You’re sucking me off as SOON as they leave!” Isak shouted after him. 

 

“Sana!” Even said as he swung open the door. “And Yousef!”

The couple was standing in the door, Yousef giving a kind of apologetic look and Sana, standing a head below him as always, with her arms crossed and an fiery expression. “Where is Isak?” she asked angrily. 

“Our bedroom, but-” Even started, but Sana stormed past him without waiting for him to continue. 

Yousef and Even made eye contact, Even raising his eyebrows. “I think she needs notes or something?” Yousef offered, going in for a quick hug. Even patted his back. 

 

“Isak!” Sana shouted, and if looks could kill. He was still in bed, blanket kicked off, only in his boxers. 

“Jesus, Sana,” he said, scrambling to grab the sheets and pull them up over his chest. “Have you heard of knocking?”

“Oh, I knocked! And I called, and I texted, but you were too busy getting it on with your boyfriend to pick the fuck up,” Sana said, smiling with narrow eyes as she gestured towards his still-present boner. 

Flushed, Isak rolled his eyes. “What do you even need, Sana, fy faen?” 

“I need your notes from first term! From the biochem unit! Because I can’t find mine and I have an exam tomorrow!”

“How is that my fault?” Isak sputtered indignantly. 

“It’s not your fault I lost my notes, it’s your fault for not picking up your fucking phone for twenty-four hours!”

“I was sleeping, Sana?! I am heavily pregnant, in case you didn’t notice?!”

“I texted you at, like, seven last night!”

“Sleeping!” 

Huffing in frustration, Sana threw the shirt she’d just moved off of their desk at Isak’s head. “You’re so fucking annoying.”

“Just because you have exams and I don’t doesn’t mean you can abuse me!” Isak complained. “Maybe I won’t even let you come see the baby, how would you like that?”

“I don’t have time for this right now, Isabell. Just- where are your notes?”

Groaning, Isak stood, one hand under his stomach and moving to the bookshelf. He reached onto the top shelf. “Here,” he said, grabbing a book. “The notes will be in the front of the biochem chapter, clipped with a red paperclip.” He shoved the textbook into her hands before moving to pull on a tshirt and a pair of pants. “Now can you get out of my bedroom?”

“Takk,” Sana smiled sweetly. “Yousef’s here, too,” she said as she left the room. “I bet he’d like to see you.”

Groaning, Isak followed her. 

 

“Yeah, I thought so too! I mean, all the juxtaposition with the high school-y stuff and the serious crime fighting was hilarious, and the actor-”

“Halla,” Sana said as he and Isak walked in, interrupting Even and Yousef’s conversation on cinematic genius. “I got my notes,” she continued, smiling nicely as if she hadn’t been a hurricane in their bedroom three seconds ago. 

“Good,” Yousef nodded. Sana sat down across from them and Even stood up to let Isak sit, sitting on the couch’s arm himself. 

“Do you want tea, Sana?” Even asked as Isak collapsed onto the couch, huffing in relief. He and Yousef made eye contact, giving quick nods. 

“Sure, thank you,” Sana said, pleased. Even hopped up and headed into the kitchen. 

“Soo,” Isak drawled, immediately annoyed that his charismatic boyfriend had left the room and now he had to participate in the conversation. “How are you guys?”

“Great!” Yousef said, at the same time Sana said, “I have three exams this week.” Licking his lips and looking between the two of them awkwardly, Isak slowly nodded. 

“Sounds… yeah,” he said. 

“We’re doing great though,” Yousef said, gesturing to himself and then Sana. Isak nodded again. 

“That’s awesome.”

As Sana went to say something, another knock on the door something. Isak had a beat of areyouseriousisthisajoke before moving to stand. 

Just then, though, Even came back in. “Sit down,” he said, pointing at Isak as he moved to the foyer. Isak fell back into the couch. 

 

Opening the door, Even was surprised to find Magnus on the other side. Magnus isn’t usually a fan of the pop-in, he thought to himself.

“Bro!” Mags exclaimed, throwing his arms around Even’s neck. “I need your help, man.”

“Hey,” Even said back. “Yeah, come in. Um, Sana and Yousef are here, too.”

“Oh,” Magnus’s face fell slightly. “Okay.”

They moved back into the living room, where Isak had his head back against the couch as Sana argued something about their studies. “Magnus!” he exclaimed as his friend walked in. “Oh my god, hei!” He was a little too excited to get Sana to shut up. 

“Hei,” Magnus replied, happy at this enthusiastic greeting. “I just dropped by because I need advice.”

“Awesome! Here, you can sit,” Isak started to stand, but Even pushed his shoulder back down. 

“Sorry Mags, you can stand,” the tall boy said, and Magnus nodded. 

“Actually, we’re probably gonna go,” Sana cut in, but Magnus turned to her, frantic. 

“Nei?? I could actually use your advice too!”

With a mildly annoyed, mostly curious look, Sana settled back. Magnus gave a cautious look to Yousef and Isak felt a bit bad that he was still so nervous around the balloon boys. 

Isak became friends with Magnus during the beginning of their first year. Jonas was always so busy with Eva or Elias and he was lonely, having literally no other friends, and Magnus was so incrediably sweet. And he always seemed so lost in class. So, one day, Isak offered to help him out. Magnus once said that if this had been during second year, after Isak’s growth spurt and stuff, he would’ve never said yes, but when a puppy-ish looking kid with fluffy hair and a way-too-big sweater asked him to hang, he couldn’t see the harm. He was scared of Jonas, but they got on eventually. And then Mahdi came as a new kid in second year, and he was so cool and chill and over everyone’s bullshit, but he still treated dopey Magnus like he was worth his time, and Magnus was shook. “I didn’t think I was above anyone,” Mahdi shook his head later, when Magnus admitted all this to him, “I was a nervous new kid! I was just quiet because I was scared. And you were nice to me.”

But then the balloon boys happened. And it wasn’t their fault that Mahdi took such a liking to them or that Even was an old friend, but it still worried Magnus. Because he’s always felt a bit like the deadweight of the group, and now Even, who was like a fucking god and actually listened to Magnus, was reunited with his old squad and Mahdi, who was probably his best friend, had all these new kids he was relating to on, like, a deep level. And even Vilde, his then-girlfriend, was suddenly crushing on them, and a rumor started that she cheated on him with Sana’s brother. It was bullshit, but still. So the balloon boys made him anxious. They were nice- shit, they were fucking awesome- but he never felt quite like he could relax around them. 

But he needed advice, and Yousef was probably the dorkiest of them, which set Magnus a bit more at ease. “So you know that girl I’ve been hanging around with?” the blond boy asked now. Isak tilted his head. 

“The one who kissed you?”

“Well, ja, but now we’ve done more than that,” Magnus replied, blushing. Isak nodded. “She wants me to meet her parents.”

“Ja?” Even asked, raising his eyebrows. Magnus nodded. “That’s great, dude!”

“But we haven’t even been on a proper date!” Magnus sputtered. “I mean, I feel kind of shitty. She must be taking this very seriously if she wants me to meet her parents!”

“Well you like her a lot, don’t you?” Isak asked, leaning his head against his hand. 

“Yeah! But I didn’t think she liked me that much!” Mags replied. 

Rolling his eyes, Isak said, “Then what’s the problem? You like her, she likes you… this is basic middle school stuff.”

“But we haven’t even been on a date,” Magnus repeated. “I mean, does she want me to propose next week or something? Meeting her parents is so serious!”

“Didn’t you ask Isak to meet your parents after, like, a week?” Sana asked Even from her position in the easy chair. 

Even rolled his eyes. “We’d been having a thing for like two months, we’d only been officially, like, together-together, no secrets, for a week. But she’d heard all about him.”

“Still, wasn’t that a bit early?” asked Yousef. 

“But that’s because I knew I wanted to spend forever with him,” Even said, as Isak said over him, “That’s cuz he knew he wanted to get married.”

Everyone smiled at this, but Isak felt something in his stomach turn over. Even beamed down at him and he forced a smile back. 

“But I don’t know if I want to marry her!” Magnus exclaimed, distracting the green eyed boy for a bit. 

“Well Mags, you’ve been hanging out for a few months now. It’s not that crazy that she’s asked you to meet her parents. Maybe this is just, like, a signal that she wants you to get more serious,” Even suggested, and Sana snorted.

“Nei,” she said. “I mean, she might want to to get more serious, but I doubt this is a sneaky signal. You guys always think girls are trying to send little signs. Mostly, if we say something, it’s just that. If I had to guess, I’d say her parents want to meet you.” 

“Serr?” Magnus asked, surprised. 

“Ja? Her parents are probably pestering her about bringing you home.”

“When did Yousef meet your parents?” Magnus asked, and Sana and Yousef shared an amused look. 

“When I was two. But that’s a different case. Just ask her if she wants this thing to be more serious, okay? She’s not going to, like, lie.”

“Yeah,” Magnus nodded. “Yeah, okay. Takk.”

“Anytime,” Sana nodded. “Now we actually have to get going.” She stood, nodding at Yousef. “Ready?”

“Yeah. It was nice seeing you guys,” he nodded at the three boys left in the room. 

 

Magnus left soon thereafter, leaving Isak and Even alone. Even busied himself a bit by cleaning up the cups and mugs and washing them out while Isak sat on the couch, on his phone. 

“Still want me to suck you off, baby?” the older boy asked as he walked back in, pushing back some of Isak’s pretty golden hair. The younger boy shrugged. 

“Nei, not in the mood.”

“Okay,” Even nodded. He sat down next to his boy and leaned his head against Isak’s shoulder. Isak didn’t move, just kept scrolling through instagram. Narrowing his eyes, Even started pressing kisses into the side of his neck, up towards his ear. 

When he bit his earlobe lightly, Isak flinched away. “I told you I’m not in the mood.”

Pulling back, Even drew in his eyebrows. “What’s wrong?” he asked. 

“Nothing,” Isak grumbled, pulling his phone closer to his face. 

“Baby,” Even moved to take the phone, but Isak pulled it back. It ended up skidding out of both their hands and landing on the floor with a bang. 

“Great!” Isak exclaimed, trying to stand. “If it’s fucking broken…”

“I’ve got it, Isak, sit down,” Even said, standing up and grabbing the phone. Isak crossed his arms. “It’s fine. But this is why I keep telling you to get a case.”

“I don’t want a stupid case!” Isak said indignantly. He knew he sounded childish, even to his own ears, but he couldn’t care less. 

“Isak, what’s wrong? Why are you being like this? Is it cuz we got interrupted this morning?” 

“Nei! I’m just-” Isak shook his head, shrugging a bit frantically. “I mean, you-” he blinked, embarrassed now at being such a baby, especially now that he was tearing up. “Nothing. Never mind. I’m sorry.”

“Issy,” Even sighed, kneeling in front of Isak and grabbing his hands. “Sweet boy. Why did you get upset?”

“It’s stupid,” Isak shrugged. “I just… do you wanna get married?” 

“What?” Even laughed, squeezing his hands. “Are you proposing?!”

“Nei,” Isak tilted his head. “I just… you always say you wanna be with me forever but we never talk about marriage and you never even say the word and I just- are you worried you’re going to fall out of love with me? Or is it- have I-”

“Baby,” Even sighed, licking his lips. “Shh. It’s okay.” He reached up, wiping Isak’s tears with his thumbs. “I’m not going anywhere my love. I’m right here.” Sniffing, Isak let himself tugged into a tight hug. “I just don’t want to scare you, sweetheart, okay?”

“Scare me?” Isak asked, pulling away slightly. “Why would you…?”

“Isak,” Even said, looking down. “Do you, um… don’t you remember the last time I asked you about marriage?”

Searching his face, Isak opened and closed his mouth. “I… you mean at the hotel?”

Even nodded, a look of shame coming over his face. “I just thought… maybe… if I started talking about marriage, you might think… I don’t know, that I’m manic, or maybe it would just freak you out, having to think about that night again, and I…”

“Even,” Isak shook his head, taking the other boy’s head between his hands. “Baby. I love you so much. And I would never, ever assume something like that. You know that.”

“I know, but it still might scare you, and I just-”

“Shh. Even,” Isak pressed a kiss to his mouth. “I love every part of you. Even if you did bring up getting married when you’re manic, I would be just as excited as if you weren’t, okay? And yeah that night was scary, but it was just because I didn’t know what was happening and I thought you were gonna get hurt. Which was also not your fault. Because I was a dick and obviously you wouldn’t want to tell me about you bipolar after the things I’d said. Okay? I don’t… I love you so, so much. You saying you want to get married would never scare me.”

“No?” Even asked, searching Isak’s face, and the younger boy kissed him.

“No. Never.”

Smiling nervously, Even nodded. “ And I do, you know. Want to get married. I know that this is forever, okay? I’m not worried at all.”

“Okay,” Isak nodded. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. So much.”

Isak sighed and hugged him again, burying his nose in Even’s hair, taking deep breaths. “So was that a proposal?” he joked after a beat. 

Even laughed. “Nei. If I’m the one that proposes, it’s gonna be a lot better than that.”

“And if it’s me?”

“Then it’ll be even better.”

Rolling his eyes, Isak pulled back. “Nei. It couldn’t be.”

“Well I guess we’ll just have to see,” Even challenged. He moved to sit beside his boy, tugging Isak into his side. “Let’s watch a show, baby. How does that sound?”

Isak puffed up his cheeks with air before letting it out slowly. “Sounds good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you wanna watch?”

“Whatever is fine.”

“How do you feel?” Even murmured into Isak’s hair as he flipped through the channels. 

Isak sighed. “Honestly? Pretty calm.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I think… I mean I’m really stressed about shopping for everything and stuff, but I think… the baby will come when she comes. You know? And… I’m just excited. I’m not scared anymore.”

“I’m so happy, baby. I’m so, so excited.”

“Me too.”

Pulling him slightly closer, Even kissed the side of Isak’s head. “Happy third trimester, angel.”

Isak pulled back, smiling up at his boy. “Happy third trimester.”


	13. Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okayy so legit nothing happens in this chap, they're just bein cUTE!! Also I'm probably gonna do a second part to this story where they have a second bby and it's probably gonna be a boy, how many ppl would be interested in that? Love youu!!

Chapter 13

“Oww, what the fuck?!” 

“Are you sure I shouldn’t call the doctor, baby?” Even fretted nervously, biting his lower lip as Isak gripped the pillow he was holding to his chest tighter, eyes squeezed shut. 

“Nei, it’s okay- she said this would happen and- honestly I’m surprised it’s taken this long and- fuck fuck fuck, Even, owww,” Isak squeaked, reaching out and taking Even’s hand, squeezing it hard. 

“Issy,” Even sighed, tilting his head. “Baby, what can I do?”

“Nothing, nothing, it’s fine. It’s fine. They’re not even as bad as the- real ones and- it’s fine.” Isak slowly opened his eyes again. “I think it’s over. Yeah, um… I think it’s over.”

“Do you need me to get you anything? Do you want, like, a heating pad or- what do you need, sweetheart?” Even asked frantically, lowering Isak back into bed and pulling the blankets up to his chest. 

“I don’t need anything,” Isak grumbled, “I’m just exhausted.” He pulled the blankets tighter and burrowed his head into the pillows. “Lay with me,” he said softly. 

Nodding, Even crawled in behind his back and layed one arm over his (no longer existent) waist. “Baby, does it really hurt that bad?”

“It doesn’t feel that bad yet,” Isak shrugged against him and laced their fingers together, snuggling closer. “It feels better when you’re here.”

“This happened when I wasn’t here?!” Even asked, as if betrayed by Isak’s false contractions. 

“Yeah, earlier when you were at work.”

“What did you do?”

Wiggling around to face him, Isak leaned their foreheads together. “Let’s see, first I called 112, then I waited for the ambulance to come, and when they got here I let those sexy paramedics lift me up and put me on the stretcher, which was really great because you know, those doctors are always the hottest, and so I was sweating a lot and they took off their shirts for me to use as a rag which was honestly great-”

“Stop bullying me,” Even whined, tucking his head in the crook of Isak’s neck, nosing at his collarbone. 

“Evy,” Isak laughed, “I just sat here until it was over. What else would I have done?”

“Did it hurt? I wish I was home.”

“Of course it hurt, but you can’t be home all the time. I was fine. Just like I was fine this time.”

Even peppered kisses along his boy’s collarbone and Isak pushed his nose deeper into Even’s hair, arms tight around his back. “I love you,” he mumbled. 

“I love you too, sweet boy.”

Isak could feel himself drifting off to sleep, which wasn’t very surprising. “Are you tired, baby?” he heard Even ask, and he hummed in reply. After a while he felt the older boy move, kiss his forehead, and then get out of bed. “Get some rest,” Even said, and normally Isak would’ve protested at the loss of cuddles but he was practically out by now so he just curled up around a pillow and passed out. 

 

“Evyyy, where are youu?” 

Even smiled from his place in the kitchen. “I’m making dinner baby.”

He heard some grunting and huffing before footsteps and then felt Isak’s tummy press into his back. When he couldn’t lean all the way against Even and wrap his arms around him, he tried another angle, but when that didn’t work either he dropped his arms to his sides with a small hurt sound. “Evy, I can’t hug you like this anymore,” he said and Even would be lying if he didn’t say the smaller boy sounded on the verge if tears. 

“Sweetheart,” Even turned around, and, yep, Isak was crying. He reached under his eyes and wiped at the tears that had spilled onto his cheeks. “Baby, it’s okay. You can hug me like that a month and a half, okay? And by then we’ll have a beautiful baby girl, too!”

“But what am I supposed to do until then?” Isak whimpered, looking up at Even with big, sad, sleepy eyes. His hair was a fluffy mess and there was a crease on his cheek from where the sheet had been pressed into him, and Even wanted to kiss him all over. 

Instead he opted for one quick peck on the nose. “Here,” he said, maneuvering them so that Isak was tucked into his side in a way where most of their bodies could be touching. “Is this okay?”

Humming contently, Isak nodded, and Even continued making food for them. After a while, he nudged Isak out of his sleepy trance. “Time to eat, baby,” he said. 

Grumbling, Isak moved away and sat down. Even brought the food over and set it on the table. Immediately, Isak began eating, still dazed but very invested in his meal. “So, Issy,” Even cleared his throat. 

“Hmm?”

“You know we’ve been discussing getting a new place, with more room. For the baby.”

“Yeah,” Isak nodded. 

“Well, I think I found somewhere.”

Isak raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. There are a lot of perks to it. First off, it’s about two minutes away from the kollectiv, so if we ever need a last minute babysitter, I’m sure we’ll have options. Second, it’s two bedroom, so we have room for the nursery. Third, the rent isn’t that much more than this place, and my parents are obviously still willing to help us.”

Isak smiled. “That sounds really good. When can we go see it?”

“Anytime. The people who are renting it now said we can stop by whenever, as long as I call first.” Even nodded. “That sounds… that sounds good?”

“That sounds perfect, Evy.”

Smiling, Even reached across the table and took one of Isak’s hands. They just looked at each other for a beat before Even said seriously, “Don’t you dare think you’re helping with the moving, though.”

Isak rolled his eyes. “Oh god,” he said as he started eating again. “We have so much to do. Mags wants to have the shower in three weeks, we have to move, we have to buy all the stuff that we don’t get as presents, then we have to prepare the nursery and-”

“Isak, it’s gonna be fine. Okay? We’re gonna be okay.”

“Even, we have to do this stuff.”

“I know, and we will, okay? But you don’t have to stress. I promise.”

Raising his eyebrows, Isak gave a pointed look. “Do you cross your heart?” he asked sarcastically, and Even reached up and drew an x over his heart with one finger. 

As they finished up dinner- or Isak continued eating twenty minutes after Even was full and then they cleared the plates- they continued talking about everything that was to come. “What if she’s a brunette or a redhead?” Isak asked as he washed out the cups (“I can wash cups, Even, I’m not going to die.”)

“Did you have an affair?” Even laughed. 

Rolling his eyes, Isak shook his head. “Nei, but it could still happen. Probably. I’d have to look into your family history.”

“I think she’ll be blonde. No idea why, I just have this weird feeling,” Even said, narrowing his eyes and nodding. Isak scoffed. 

“She’s gonna be tall,” he said after a beat, eyes wide. “I mean, look at us.”

“Issy, baby, I hate to break this to you, but you’re tiny. A small little bean.”

With a loud, drawn out groan, Isak put down the cup and walked back into their bedroom. “I cannot do this right now,” he said as he left, followed by Even’s loud laughter. “I’m taller than almost ALL of our friends!” he shouted as he crawled into bed. “YOU’RE JUST A GIANT!”

“I can’t help that I’m dating a precious little smol,” Even shrugged, trailing him and hopping on the bed, too, making it shake. 

Isak rolled his eyes, trying not to smile. “Come on, baby,” Even laughed, sitting up slightly to kiss his cheek. “Just admit you’re my tiny little boy.”

Flushing, Isak shook his head. “Maybe compared to you, but-”

“Uh-uh-uh. That’s all I ask,” Even cut him off. 

“BUT that still means she’s gonna be tall!”

“Don’t even talk about her being tall,” Even said, collapsing down again. “She’s not even born, she’s not allowed to grow up.”

“Oh god, you’re gonna be the worst when she’s a teenager,” Isak giggled, and Even groaned, covering his ears with his hands. 

“That word is no longer allowed in this home!” he announced. 

“We’re going to have to deal with buying her bras and tampons and shit,” Isak continued, and suddenly he was getting tackled to the bed and kissed all over his face. 

“Shut- up-” Even said between pecks. Laughing, Isak tried to push him away. 

 

Later that night, when they were watching a movie, Isak took out his phone. 

 

Isak: Eva!!

Eva: Heiiiiiii 

Isak: I have a proposition for you!!

Eva: What?

Isak: Well, at some point in her life, baby’s gonna need somebody she can talk to about womanly things. And, while Even and I will always be there for her of course, she might not feel comfortable coming to us. 

Isak: sooo

Eva: OH MY GOD YES

 

Eva: OH MY GODDD YESSSS

Isak: hahahah, so you’ll help us out?

Eva: Will I be called Auntie Eva?

Eva: You know I’m going to be her favorite right?

Eva: I’m gonna be like her god mother!!

 

Eva: are you guys doing that?

Isak: godparents?

Eva: ja

Isak: not with the church or anything

Isak: but you and Jonas can be like her official-unofficial godparents 

Isak: actually hold up I should check w Even first lol 

 

“Hey, baby?” Isak said quietly, nudging Even, who was very invested in whatever they were watching. 

“Hmm?”

“Could Eva and Jonas be the baby’s official-unofficial godparents?”

“That’s chill,” Even nodded, pulling Isak a little closer but never taking his eyes off the screen. 

 

Isak: he said “that’s chill”

Eva: yayayay!! 

Eva: I’ll tell Jonas

Eva: he’ll be so excited

Eva: he’s been talking about how he’s going to have so much fun with her non stop

Isak: awwww he’s such a sap

Isak: thx for telling me now I can make fun of him

Eva: hahah, he said he wants to teach her to skate

Isak: NEI??!!

Isak: Do you remember how many times I fell and got hurt trying to learn??!! 

Isak: And even’s clumsy as fuck

Isak: no way is she stepping on a skateboard until she’s 40

Eva: you know dads usually say that about dating 

Eva: not skateboarding

Isak: DADS thats weird 

Eva: aww daddy isak<33

Isak: …..

Eva: … you’re right that was weird

Isak: pls never call me daddy again

Isak: save that for Jonas

Eva: ahahaha 

Eva: I’m so telling him you said that

Isak: ok!

Isak: as long as you’re not calling me daddy I’ll be fine

Eva: okay I gotta go

Eva: daddy’s here 

Isak: wait nvm

Isak: never refer to jonas as daddy in front of me again

Eva: sorry, you brought this on yourself

Isak: eva

Eva: daddy wants me, ttyl<3

Isak: eVA

Eva: byeee Isak

 

Throwing his phone down with a huff, Isak buried his face into Even’s side. “Even, kill me,” he whined. 

“Never,” Even replied absentmindedly, before turning and giving Isak his attention. “What’s up, baby?” 

“Eva has started calling Jonas ‘daddy’ when she talks about him to me.”

“What?” Even laughed, rubbing up and down his shoulder. “What did you do?”

“Why do you assume I did something?!”

“Eva’s a smart girl. She wouldn’t do this on her own will.”

Sighing, Isak said, “She might’ve called me ‘daddy Isak’ and I might’ve told her she’s only allowed to call Jonas daddy.”

“So you gave her permission!”

“I didn’t mean around me!!” Isak protested. He squeezed Even tighter. “Why are you taking her side?”

“Baby,” Even laughed, but then Isak was sitting up. 

“She’s kicking,” he said, and Even beamed, putting both hands over his stomach. 

“Hei, sweetheart,” he cooed. Isak put his hands over Even’s. 

“Baby girl, your god mama is mean to me,” the smaller boy said, scrunching up his nose. 

“But she means well,” Even nodded. “She’s going to love you a lot. Oh my god, you’re going to get so much love.”

“Ja,” Isak rolled his eyes. “Trust us, there are a lot of over-excited uni students waiting to meet you.”

“And Eskild! Eskild is going to lose his mind when he sees you,” Even said. “Eskild is like dada’s big brother, or his god pappa. He’s going to love you so much. And Linn.”

“But nobody’s going to love you more than us, baby,” Isak said, threading his fingers through Even’s. “Never ever.”

“Oh, we’re so excited to meet you, sweet girl. You’re going to be the light of our life.”

“And maybe,” Isak said, looking at Even nervously, “maybe one day we’ll give you a little brother or sister, too.”

Beaming, Even moved up to face Isak more head on. “Really?” he asked. “You’d want to have another baby?”

Smiling a little, Isak nodded. “Yeah. I mean… wouldn’t you?”

“Of course, angel, of course.”

“Okay,” Isak nodded, smile growing wider. Even laughed. 

“Okay.”

Suddenly, the baby gave a particularly hard kick and Isak dropped his head back in the pillow. “Jesus, sweetheart, are you trying to beat me up in there?”

“I think she likes the idea of a sibling,” Even glowed. 

And Isak had to kiss his boy because, yeah, he liked the idea too.


	14. Fourteen

Chapter 14

“So the- the other room is- how many square feet?” Isak panted, one hand pressed into the small of his back and the other under his stomach. God, he felt like shit.

Even walked behind him, kneading both his thumbs into Isak’s back. 

Maya, the woman renting the apartment now, smiled. “150 square feet,” she nodded, gesturing into the room again. “But the other room is bigger.”

“Yeah, that’s what we’re looking for, we’re just-” he lowered his head slightly, taking a deep breath, eyes shut. “We need somewhere for the baby and somewhere for us.”

“Well this is good for that,” she said, smiling. 

Isak nodded, scrunching up his nose, and Even pulled him closer by the hips. 

“Are you okay?” asked Maya, looking worried. 

“Mmhmm,” Isak nodded, the hum coming out higher pitched than he intended as another brief false contraction hit him. 

“Okay,” Maya continued, moving to keep giving them the tour. “This is the kitchen, and, and the appliances are all pretty up-to-date, nothing needs major repairs, and…”

Isak, despite how much he was trying to pay attention, could feel himself zoning out. His legs were a bit swollen and he couldn’t walk right- yes, the waddle was happening full on now- and his back hurt and his muscles were achy and he really just wanted to sit down. “Lean on me, baby,” Even murmured in his ear when Maya turned away, and Isak easily settled his whole weight against the taller boy, who tried not to stumble backwards. 

“So do you guys have any questions? I mean, we’re not really offering to a lot of other people, so I’m pretty sure there won’t be a problem getting the place or anything,” Maya shrugged as she looked around and, shit, was the tour thing over? Isak could remember about 30% of what she’d said. 

“No, I think we’re good. This is perfect,” Even beamed, and Isak nodded along. 

“Great! Well, we’ll call you soon, okay?”

“Okay,” Even nodded, and then he was taking Isak’s hand and walking them out. 

 

On the way down the stairs, they had to stop a few times for Isak to catch his breath. “Are you okay, sweetheart? You’ve been really struggling lately.”

Isak shot him a glare. “I am almost eight months pregnant, Even.”

“I know, angel, but you can’t even make it down the stairs anymore without-” but, seeing the annoyance written on Isak’s face, Even decided to shut up. Probably a good plan. Raising his hands in surrender, he laughed a little. “Nevermind, nevermind.”

“Good,” Isak said, moving to keep walking. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Isak tipped his head back, letting out a long huff. “Ugh,” he groaned, moving slowly towards the tram stop, which was luckily right near by. “Why does my entire body hurt?”

“Baby,” Even frowned, sitting him down on the bench. “Are you comfortable? Do you want something behind your back?” he asked, fretting around as they waited for the tram to get there. 

“Nei, nei,” Isak waved him off, squeezing the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “Just sit with me.”

Even nodded, sitting beside him and wrapping one arm around his shoulders, pressing a kiss into his temple. “When we get home, I can draw you a bath. Or we can get in bed. I washed the sheets like you like, baby boy.”

“Mm,” Isak hummed, content to make a decision later. He snuggled closer to Even, making a disgruntled noise when the tram pulled up and he had to move again. Luckily it was pretty empty, so they got to sit and have some room around them. 

“Have some water, baby,” Even murmured, pulling a bottle of water out of his backpack. Isak’s eyes were shut and he frowned, moving away slightly. “Come on, the doctor said it’s really important for you to stay hydrated.”

“Ugh,” Isak took the water and swallowed about half the bottle in a few big sips before handing it back. He leaned back against Even, curling into him as much as he could, before suddenly sitting upright with wide eyes. “Fuuckk,” he drawled, moving to take off his light jacket. 

“What’s wrong?!” Even asked, immediately panicked. 

“Nothing, I just- Jesus, nobody ever said hot flashes felt like you’re in a goddamn oven, what the fuck?”

“Hot flashes? Oh, you’re getting- oh, baby,” Even sighed. “Do you want to take off your shirt?”

“Nei, Even, are you insane?” Isak asked, shooting him an incredulous look. He was actually sweating. “Faen, oh god, I think I’m having heartburn too.” Raising both of his hands to his face, Isak groaned. “Why does my body hate me, what the hell?!”

“Sweetheart, I-”

“Fuck, Even,” Isak felt something unspeakable happen suddenly, panic swelling in his chest, and he dropped his jacket onto his lap and swatted Even’s inscenet hands away, turning to face the wall. The tram pulled up to their stop and he got up, moving towards the door as quickly as his waddle could carry him. He was actually so uncomfortable, it was crazy. Even followed, carrying all their things, and tried not to bother Isak as he huffed up the stairs, short of breath the whole time, eyes squeezed shut in pain every few steps. Once they got into the apartment, Isak went directly to the bathroom. Even moved around, putting their things away. 

Once safely locked in the bathroom, Isak pulled down his pants and stared at his boxers. His heart was still on fire and he was dizzy and hot and his hips and stomach were riddled in stretch marks and he’d been feeling so horrible absolutely all day, and this was one of the days where he didn’t feel the whole “glow” at all and the baby hadn’t even moved, and now he had peed his fucking pants. 

Staring at himself in the mirror, he tried to remember everything everyone had been telling him- at this point, it’s important to remember to breathe, to take it one step at a time, and to remain positive. 

But, no matter how much he tried to catch his breath, he was always panting anyway, and in that moment it was just all too much. 

Bringing both hands to his face, Isak let out a sob, trying not to make it too loud, but apparently he had failed because he heard the door click open and then Even was murmuring, “Oh, baby,” and engulfing him in warmth. 

“I just- I’m really-”

“Shh,” Even sighed, “it’s okay. Let it out.”

At this, Isak felt whatever resolve he’d had left crumble. “Evy?” he sobbed, pulling back slightly to look up at his boy with blurry eyes. Even tilted his head. 

“What is it?”

And, lowering his head back into Even’s chest, face burning with shame, Isak managed to choke out between sobs, “I peed my pants.”

He feels Even’s grip around him tighten. “That’s alright, angel.”

“I didn’t mean to, I just-”

“I know,” Even rubbed up and down his back, “I know.”

“And everything just hurts and I hate that we can’t be close anymore and I don’t feel sexy at all and I just want junk food but-”

Even just kept holding him, pressing soft kisses wherever he could without moving away at all. “Listen to me, sweetheart,” he said once Isak’s words disintegrated into nothing. “Listen. I’m going to run you a bath, you’re going to get undressed, and I’m going to run your clothes down to the wash,” at this Isak let out another embarrassed sob, “and then I’m going to get in the bath with you and we can talk more, okay?”

Sniffling, Isak reluctantly let go of Even’s shirt and let the older boy remove his remaining clothes. He literally could not remember ever being more embarrassed in his life than as Even peeled off his wet boxers, and it took everything he had in him to not start sobbing again. Once that was done, Even plugged the tub and began to run the bath. “I’m going to go run this through the wash,” he said quietly, “you get in when the bath is ready.”

Isak nodded, still unable to meet Even’s eye. The older boy disappeared and Isak waited until the bath was almost full to get in. He tried to take deep breaths, but the more he stared down at the stretchmarks on his hips and the more he thought about the last time Even had truly been able to hold him like he used to, the worse he felt. He bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood and flared his nostrils but it was no use. By the time Even came back, he was red faced and crying again. 

“Baby, what’s happened?” Even sighed, stepping out of his clothes and quickly getting in the bath behind Isak. 

“I’m just- Evy, I’m really tired. I’m tired all the time and I can’t sleep recently, and I miss you holding me, and my body’s never gonna look the same and I-” Isak broke off, words too high pitched. 

And, damn, nothing in this world had ever broken Even’s heart faster. He pulled Isak tighter to him, as tight as they could get. “I’m here, baby,” he said softly, lips ghosting Isak’s ear. “I’m holding you now.” 

He let Isak cry himself out, holding him tight and keeping his face burrowed in the side of the smaller boy’s neck. “I’m right here,” he would mumble occasionally, and eventually Isak quieted and was left taking shaky breaths. 

“Issy,” Even said when all was finally still. “Baby boy.”

“I’m okay,” Isak nodded, voice raw. Even kissed his neck, his jaw, his cheek. 

“You don’t have to be okay. You’re uncomfortable and exhausted and scared, baby. It’s okay to break down. But sweetheart…” he sighed. “Isak, my love. My sweet, beautiful, darling boy. Listen to me now, okay?”

Isak nodded mutely. 

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Ever. Okay? You are the most amazing person I’ve ever known and I love you. So much. And I would never, ever judge you. You know that.”

“It’s just so humiliating,” Isak said, tears welling into his eyes again as he turned to look at Even, and the older boy hushed him, pressing kisses over his eyelids. 

“I know. I know. And I’m so sorry that stuff like this is happening to you and that you can’t control it, and I’m so sorry that I can’t make it go away. And I wish I could hold you like I used to, too, baby. But I can hold you like this, and I will. And, baby, you are so sexy. So fucking sexy. If I wasn’t busy comforting you, I would probably want to be fucking you. And as for your body never being the same- Issy, do you remember when I had to start those new meds that made me break out like crazy? I still have acne scars from that and you don’t care. Everyone changes. I will never, ever stop finding you beautiful, angel. Never ever ever. Okay?”

Isak sniffed, taking deep breaths. “Okay,” he said after a moment, voice still all clogged up. 

“And just think, Issy, in a month I can hold you right again, and we’ll have our baby. Our sweet little girl.”

 

Isak nodded. “It’s all going to be okay, baby,” Even said softly, leaning them both back so it was more comfortable. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

They sat in silence for a long time. Eventually the water ran cold and Even stood them up. Isak seemed tired and weary, so after towelling him off, he pulled his boy’s biggest, softest tshirt over his head and his most comfy pair of boxers. “I love you so much, sweetheart,” he mumbled while drying Isak’s hair before pressing a kiss to his warm mouth. “So much.”

They moved to bed, where Even immediately got them adjusted so that he was holding Isak as close as humanly possible. He was running his hands through Isak’s warm, damp hair and humming something. 

“Evy?” the smaller boy whispered eventually. 

“Hm?”

“What color do you want to paint the nursery?”

Smiling, Even ducked down to kiss hs forehead. “I don’t know, sweet boy. Do you have any ideas?”

“I want it to be soft. Maybe purple?”

“Purple sounds perfect.”

“Maybe you can paint little mountains along the trim,” Isak yawned, snuggling closer. “For her name.”

“I’d like that,” Even said quietly. 

“People like having a theme for the nursery now,” Isak said, voice getting softer and sleepier. “Maybe we could do mountains.”

“Mmhmm,” Even hummed, curling the green eyed boy’s hair around his finger. When Isak tried to keep talking, Even leaned down and pressed a warm kiss to his mouth. “Get some rest, baby, okay?”

“Don’t go,” Isak said, nerves in his voice as he tried to move even impossibly closer to Even. 

“I’m not going, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Mmm,” Isak hummed, and then it was quiet. Even reached for his phone, holding it in a way that wouldn’t get in Isak’s eyes, and opened a text to his mom. 

 

Even: Hei mama

Mama: Hei baby! How are you?

Even: I’m good:) we’ve had a bit of trouble today though

Mama: Oh no! What’s happened?

Even: Nothing serious, Isak’s just feeling a bit down

Even: He’s very sore and exhausted and uncomfortable all the time

Mama: Ahh. Poor boy. 

Mama: Have you been helping?

Even: Of course!!!!

Even: I’ve been trying to keep him from moving around but we had to go see the new apartment today and that was really a lot for him.

Mama: What’s going on now?

Even: Now he’s resting

Even: We’ve had a bath and he’s fallen asleep

Mama: Good:)

Mama: Well baby, I don’t know what to tell you besides keep doing what you’re doing, being there for him and helping. Anyone would have bad days in his physical condition, let alone with their hormones going crazy. Don’t you feel like you’re doing anything wrong! Just be sympathetic and kind and gentle with him- which I know you’re already doing!

Even: Okay. Takk, mama.

Even: Do you want to come over sometime soon?

Mama: I’d love that 

Even: Okay

Even: You’re the best:)

Mama: YOU’RE the best

Mama: I love you baby

Even: Love you too

 

With that done, Even opened some apps and chilled for a while, Isak a deadweight on his side, but he didn’t mind. The smaller boy squirmed away after a bit but Even stayed in bed, grabbing his laptop and doing some work. Soon it was actually pretty late. Even was torn on waking Isak up to make them dinner and letting his boy sleep, considering he’d been having so much trouble the last few weeks. In the end, he decided they’d just eat a really good breakfast and, getting rid of his jeans, crawled over to Isak and rested one arm around his side, burying his nose in the nape of his boy’s neck, and let himself drift to sleep, too. 

 

The next morning, Isak woke to the sound of pots and pans in the kitchen. Tired, he pulled the blankets tighter around him and tried to drift back off, but it was too loud and bright, so eventually he stood, wrapping the blankets around him like a burrito, and made his way to the kitchen. 

“Evy,” he mumbled, coming up to the taller boy’s side and falling against him. 

Even beamed. “Good morning!” he said, kissing all over Isak’s face. “You slept a long time!”

“Hm,” Isak nodded, not really paying attention. 

“My mom wants to come over later, would that be alright?”

“When?” Isak asked groggily. 

“Sometime this afternoon.”

“That’s fine,” the smaller boy yawned. 

“Okay. Go sit down, I’ve made a big breakfast. You slept through dinner.”

Taking this realization gracefully, Isak groaned, “That’s why I’m starving.”

Even could’ve commented on the fact that he was always starving, but he decided not to. 

 

Liv came over later that afternoon. “Hei, sweetheart,” she said when Even answered the door, throwing her arms around him. “Oh, where is that boy?” she asked, pulling away. 

“In the living room,” Even nodded, and then followed her out of the room. 

“Hei, Liv!” Isak moved to stand from the couch, but she shook her head. 

“Nei, you stay seated,” she waved him down, sitting beside him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “Oh, baby, I’m so excited!” she said into his ear. 

“Me too,” Isak replied as they pulled apart. Liv took his face in her hands, examining him.

“You look good! Very healthy. I hope Even’s feeding you right.”

“Mama,” Even rolled his eyes, sitting across from them. 

“He is, don’t worry,” Isak nodded. 

“Good. So what have you two been up to? You like the apartment?”

“Yeah, it looks pretty perfect!” Isak replied, and the conversation went easy from there. 

 

Later that night, when it was just the two of them again and they were both worn down from good sex and a long day, Isak was staring up at Even with adoration as the older boy played on his phone. 

“Evy?” he said after a beat, squirming closer. 

“Hm?”

“Thank you.”

Looking down, Even studied Isak. After a while passed, he leaned down and kissed his boy. “Never thank me, my love.”


	15. Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh okayy, so this starts with smut fyi, and I always feel like I'm really bad at smut so don't hate me if you hate it lol:// I got requests!! Then there's the baby shower!!

Chapter 15

"Mm, good morning, angel," Even hummed, snuggling closer to Isak, who quickly snaked both arms around his middle. 

"Good morning," he said back, pressing a kiss to the older boy's collar bones. They laid like that, tight as possible to each other, for a short bit. As Even moved down and started kissing along Isak's face, though, down to his jaw and neck, Isak let out a quiet huff. 

"Mm, Ev," he said a bit breathlessly as Even rolled a little on top of him and started sucking a mark into the divot between his neck and his shoulder. 

"First day in the new apartment," Even said softly. "Wanna show the neighbors what they're in for?" 

"Please," Isak grinned down at him. 

Smiling back, Even pecked the younger boy's neck, then moved down, eventually mouthing at his nipple. He rolled it in his mouth until Isak was trembling and taking his hair in his hands, pushing at his hands and mumbling, "Faster, Evy, please." 

"Impatient much?" Even laughed, but he moved down anyway. "Mm, baby, I can't take you like this anymore," he said as he tried to maneuver Isak's legs over his shoulders. "Gonna need you on your hands and knees, okay?" 

"Yes, yes," Isak mumbled, quickly turning over for Even. 

"So fucking good, sweet boy," Even said, tugging him closer by the thighs and pressing a gentle kiss into the small of his back. "Where do you want me?" 

"Mm," Isak moaned, rutting back. "Tongue, Evy." 

"Okay," Even replied, spreading him further and reaching up his thighs to pull him closer. 

For the slightest second, Even's knuckles got stuck between Isak's leg and his tummy and the younger boy froze, embarrassment coursing through him, but then Even was groaning out, "Fuck, you're so fucking hot," and eating him out hard, so all Isak could do was gasp and let his head fall. 

"Oh, fuck, Ev, I-" Isak panted, tensing as Even licked up inside him. "Jesus fuck," he gasped when the older boy added a finger. 

It was hard like this- they had to be so gentle and soon, they both knew, they wouldn't be able to do it at all, but they would absolutely not give this up before they had to. 

"Take me so well, angel," Even mumbled as he pulled his face away, instead opting for a second finger as he scissored and stretched Isak out. 

"Evy, please," the younger boy said almost sadly as Even continued fingering him, adding a third finger along with some lube. "I'm ready." 

"Okay, baby. Here, be careful for me, alright?" 

"Yes, yes, of course," Isak moaned. He let out a beautiful relieved sound when Even lined up and pushed in, slowly and gently. "Please, Evy, more. I can take it."

Even nodded and pushed the rest of the way in, giving Isak time to adjust before moving again. 

He pulled back once; twice; setting a smooth, tender rhythm. "Feel so good, baby," Even said, and he knew he'd hit Isak's spot dead on when the younger boy let out what sounded like a sob. 

"Even Even Even,” Isak was moaning, face practically pressed into the mattress by this point. “Fuck I’m gonna- I’m gonna-”

“That’s right, baby, come for me,” Even hummed, holding his boy up by the hips. “I’ve got you.”  
“Fuck- Evy- I need-”

“What do you need, angel?”

Even bent slightly over him, “Come on, come. Be good for me, baby.”

With a broken sound, Isak lost even more resolve and sunk slightly lower. He came hard onto the bed, trembling as Even whispered him through it and ran his hands up and down Isak’s tense back. “So good, so good angel.”

“Even,” Isak half sobbed, head falling deeper between his shoulders. Even gently kept moving, chasing his own orgasm, as Isak tried not to cry out. 

“Such a beautiful boy,” Even murmured, tensing up as he finally came. “So- good for me,” he grunted. 

“Mm, Even, Even,” Isak said softly, feeling himself go just the slightest bit under. 

“Fuck,” Even hissed, pulling out and collapsing back into bed. Immediately, Isak curled into his side, hair brushing under Even’s chin, hands grabbing at his body. 

Even absentmindedly stroked his hair until he realized the smaller boy was actually falling back asleep. And, as much as he was sweatily, stickily, chest heavingly post-sex, too, he knew they had to get up. Also, they had to deal with the fact that Isak came in their sheets. 

“Stay with me now, baby, the shower’s in a few hours,” Even said.

Isak chose, however, to ignore this. “Mm, that was good,” the smaller boy said quietly, tracing a spiral on Even’s chest. “Thank you, Evy.”

“Thank you, sweet boy,” Even replied, pulling him closer and peppering kisses into his hairline. 

After a few minutes, Isak groaned. “Fuck, does the shower really start that soon?”

“Well, the to-do list for today was wake up, christen the new apartment, and then have the shower, so…”

They’d had the boys move them in yesterday and Even, Magnus, Mahdi and Jonas had spent the whole day carrying and setting up furniture while Isak had sat on the chair Even set up as soon as they got there, directing them on where to put things. He’d cried a lot while packing up the old place- “Even, this is where I told you I was pregnant, how can we leave?” “This is where I FOUND OUT I was pregnant, Evy, what are we gonna do when we leave?”- but eventually they got through it and he was bouncy and excited again. By the time the boys left, most of the furniture was set up, including the bed, so they got to spend their first night sleeping not on the floor, unlike all of their other apartments. Which was a must, according to Even, because “No, Isak is absolutely not sleeping on the floor. Nope. Yes, Magnus, I understand that setting up a bed is hard, but we’re doing it right now, okay?” So now that they’d banged the headboard into this new wall, they could start getting ready for the shower. 

“Ughh. Why did I think I would want to see anybody but you ever at eight months?”

“Baby,” Even laughed, nosing at his jaw and pressing quick kisses to his neck. “Come on, don’t you want presents?”

Isak beamed. “Oh right! I forgot about presents!”

“You’re so adorable,” Even said, squeezing him tight. “What do you think we’re going to get?”

“I don’t know… I mean, I didn’t put all that time into the registry for nothing, so hopefully useful things. Maybe you can start on the nursery!”

“I’m sure I’ll be able to,” Even nodded. 

“Yay,” Isak smiled up at him. “Oh my god,” he said, smile growing wider yet, “we’re having a baby! In a month!”

Laughing, Even kissed his forehead, his cheek, anywhere he could reach. “We’re having a baby, baby,” he said softly. 

 

A while later they were still in bed, but now Even was insisting they get up and start getting ready. 

“Jonas, Eva and Magnus are coming by to help set up in an hour and a half, sweetie, we gotta shower,” he was saying, but Isak was being insistent that they never move again. “Issy, baby, how about we get up now, and then I let you eat all the cake you want later on?”

At this, Isak lit up. So far, Even had been very stern on the only-healthy-food rule, despite Isak’s insistence that the baby would be absolutely fine if he had a few chips or a bowl of ice cream (“I’m the premed student, Ev, don’t you think I’d know better than you?”) so this offer felt once-in-a-lifetime. “Really?” he asked, biting down on his smile, and Even laughed. 

“Yes, really. Now you go shower while I clean the sheets, okay?”

“M’kay,” Isak shrugged, squirming out of bed and waddling towards the bathroom, bent backwards slightly. 

Rolling his eyes at all this ridiculousness, Even stood too, and started to gather up the laundry. 

Two hours later, Eva and Jonas arrived, Magnus in tow. “BRO!” the blond boy said as soon as Even opened the door, throwing both arms around him. “Are you excited?” he squeaked after pulling back, both hands plastered to his cheeks. 

“Very excited!” Even replied, clapping his shoulder. “Thank you guys for arranging all this.”

“Thank Mags,” Jonas said, giving Even a hug, too. “He did practically everything.”

“Yeah, thank you so much, Maggie,” Even replied, letting go of Jonas to hug Eva, who attacked him enthusiastically. 

“Oh my god, are you freaking out?!” she squealed. “One month! Maybe less! Until the little princess is here!”

Laughing, Even squeezed her. “I know, I’m so incrediably happy.”

“Where’s Isak?” Magnus called, moving into the apartment. “Oh, man, this place is so nice!”

“Isak’s getting dressed,” Even replied. “You guys can sit down.”

The four of them moved to the living area, settling into the couches until Isak came out, properly dressed finally. “Hei!” Eva was the first to bounce up, giving him the best hug that she could. “I missed you! We haven’t seen each other in ages!”

“Hei, Eva,” Isak laughed. He was quickly hugged by Magnus and Jonas, too. 

“Isn’t this going to be just the best?” Magnus asked, sitting down again with the biggest smile. 

“Yeah!” Isak sat beside him. “Thank you so much, Mags, for doing all this for us.”

Even narrowed his eyes, very aware of how reluctant Isak had been to have a big party, but then he saw the huge, genuine happiness that spread over Magnus’s face and he understood. 

“Oh, we have our pictures,” Eva said, suddenly reaching in her pocket and pulling out two photos, handing them over to Isak. 

In one, Even could see, there was a small, blue-eyed baby in little green dress and cap, being held up by somebody, and in the other there was another blue eyed baby in a onesie, sitting on the floor surrounded by toys.   
Isak examined them. “Um,” he said after a beat, “as much as I’m loving these, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do with them.”

“For the game!” Eva explained. 

“Yeah, I told you about this,” Magnus butted in, and Isak stared at them blankly. 

“Isyy has had a bit of trouble remembering things lately,” Even laughed, earning a scoff and an eyeroll from his boy. 

“We’re playing that game where everyone gives a baby picture of themself and then people have to guess who’s who,” Magnus explained. “You know,” he urged when Isak continued to stare blankly, “they do it all the time at baby showers.”

“How do you know what they do at showers?” asked Jonas, raising his eyebrows. 

“Because- because I did research, Jonas!” Magnus sputtered. “They entrusted me with the responsibility of planning their baby shower, I wasn’t about to make it boring!!”

“Well what else do you have planned?” asked Isak. 

“Lots! It’s gonna go like this: first everyone gets here, and we serve light lunch while they catch up. Then, once everyone’s settled, we start by betting on the birthday and the eye color and stuff. Then, once that’s done, we’ll have a little more mingle time. And eventually we’ll move to the baby game, and after that we’ll do presents! And then we’ll start wrapping up.”

“Sounds very well thought out, Mags,” Isak nodded, and Magnus fucking beamed. 

“You mean I didn’t fuck it up?” he asked. 

Smiling warmly, Isak shook his head. “Nei, you did perfect.”

 

The first people to show up were the balloon boys, after Magnus had ordered everyone around about where to put folding tables and plastic plates covered in cookies, cheese, crackers and fruit for a few hours. Elias rang the bell, flanked by Mutta, Adam, Mikael, and Yousef. Even answered to them, immediately falling into the group with a big hug. Everyone was cheering excitedly about the “proud pappas.”

Next to show was Mahdi, Eskild and Linn. Even also answered the door for them, and got big hugs, but Eskild was really interested in seeing Isak. “Oh, baby gay, you’re glowing!” he said upon seeing the younger boy on the couch, party hat strapped to his head. “Oh my god, I’m going to cry!”

“Eskild,” Isak laughed, trying not to cry himself. 

Then it Noora, Chris, and Sana, all with the biggest fucking grins. “Even!” Noora exclaimed upon seeing him, hugging him tightly. “Oh my gosh, we miss you guys! We never see you!”

“Speak for yourself,” Sana sassed, hugging him, too, and then Chris gave him a bear hug similar to Magnus’s. 

They thought everyone except for their mom’s- who’d insisted on coming- were there, so when the bell rang and Isak (who was already standing) went to answer it, he was surprised to see Vilde on the other side. 

“Vilde?!” the blonde boy exclaimed, eyes wide and a smile spreading over his face. “Oh my god, what are you doing here?”

“I flew home a bit early,” she shrugged, looking down at her feet, shy. “I wanted to be here for the shower.”

Isak reached out, pulling her into his arms, and she stumbled forward, surprised, before hugging back tightly. He heard her take a long, deep breath. “I’m really glad you came,” he said. 

“Me, too,” Vilde smiled when they pulled back. Suddenly, somebody inside shrieked, and then Eva was running into Vilde’s arms like somebody was chasing her. 

 

Their moms showed up not too long after and got introduced around, Liv holding Marianne’s arm whenever she started to look overwhelmed. The two of them were good friends. Liv knew how to help Marianne in a way nobody else seemed to understand, and Marianne understood Liv in a way nobody else knew. By the time that had happened, Magnus’s “mingling” was in full swing. “This is going well, isn’t it?” he as constantly saying to Mahdi, holding on to the other boy, who rolled his eyes and ruffled his hair. 

“It’s going great. Good job, dude.”

With all the commotion, Isak quickly found himself tired, despite how happy he was to have all this love and support. “Go rest a while,” Even told him at one point. “I’ll come grab you before we start the betting or anything.” 

“I don’t want to be a bad host,” Isak pouted, and Even pecked him a few times before turning him around and moving him into their bedroom. 

The room was different than the one at their old apartment. It had bigger, airier windows and it was light yellow instead of dark blue. Sitting down on the bed, Isak put both hands over his tummy. “You’ve got a lot of people out there, baby girl,” he said, rubbing circles over his belly button. “They’re all here for you!”

Laying back, he stared up at the ceiling. “I’m ready to meet you,” he said after a beat. “I’ve been excited for a long time, but now I’m really ready. I just want to hold you and kiss you and snuggle you up. I feel like I’ve been with you forever, but we haven’t even met. I can’t wait to see you’re beautiful little face for the first time, my sweet love. You’re going to be… you’re going to be everything? Can you believe that, baby? You’re going to be absolutely everything. Our little everything.”

He felt her move slightly and smiled to himself. Their little everything. 

 

By the time Even came to get him, he’d dozed off, and the older boy had to wake him with soft kisses and whispers. When he came out of the bedroom, dazed but feeling better than he had before, everyone was simmering down to start what Magnus was calling “Baby bets!!”

“Okay, so I hand out these ballots, and then everyone writes their name at the top, and all their guesses in the slots. Whoever is closest to right, when the time comes, wins a prize or something. I haven’t thought of the prize, yet, but it’ll probably be something kind of random, just warning you.”

Once all the papers were handed out, Isak scanned what they were guessing. Birthday, birth time, weight, eye color, hair color (“The hair and eye color might change as she gets older, Mags.” “Whatever, just guess.”) and who of all the squads will be her favorite. 

Isak was sitting on the easy chair, leaned into Even, who was on the arm and had one of his own arms around the smaller boy at all times and sporadically pressed kisses into the top of his head. 

The girl squad had congregated on one side of the room. Chris and Vilde were sitting tight to each other with Sana, Noora and Eva all hovering around them. The balloon boys were behind them, Yousef and Sana occasionally sharing a glance or squeezing each other’s hands. The boys were sitting on the other couch, by Isak and Even. “Are Marianne and I are own squad?” Liv asked about the last question from her and the other mother’s place at the coffee table. 

“Sure, mama,” Even nodded. “But it means out of everyone.”

“Well, obviously we’ll tie,” she replied, nudging Marianne with her shoulder. The shorter woman offered a tired, happy smile. She made eye contact with Isak and the smile grew wider. 

“You never know, mama, Mahdi is very charismatic,” said Even, smiling at his paper, not even having to look up to see his mother’s indignation. 

“Is that true, Mahdi?” she asked, turning to the boy, who put up his hands in defense. 

“Don’t pit me against you mom, man!” he said to Even, who laughed. “And, I am very cool, but I think she’ll like her grandmas more than me no matter what,” he added, much to the approval of Liv and Marianne. 

“Good answer,” Jonas said, knocking into Mahdi, who rolled his eyes. “I insinuated that she’d like me more than Eva and she lost her mind.”

“Because it was an insane thing to say? I’m sorry, Jonas, but there’s no way she’s going to like you more than me!” Eva chimed in. 

While the argument continued, Even leaned down and kissed Isak’s temple. “I have the weirdest feeling she’ll like us best of all,” he whispered, and the smaller boy rolled his eyes, turning his head for a proper kiss. 

Once the bets were in, everyone went back to talking for a while. Isak found himself sitting between Noora and Eva, who were enjoying swapping embarrassing stories about him, while Even got whisked into Sana, Yousef, Mahdi and Chris’s conversation. 

“Oh my god, you should’ve seen how it was when Even first started coming around. Each time he rang the bell, Isak would run to the door. He would kill Eskild if he opened it first,” Noora laughed. 

“The first time he introduced me to Even, he was blushing so red I thought he was going to pass out,” Eva replied. Isak, stick in the middle of them, rolled his eyes. 

“Haha. You really think either of you are going to be the favorite if you keep being so mean to me?”

“Uh!” Eva gasped, offended. “Of course I’ll be her favorite!”

“I think Eva’s got us all beat,” Noora nodded. “Except maybe Sana. I think she’ll like Sana a lot.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Eva asked. 

Isak caught Even’s eye from across the room. “Help me,” he mouthed to the older boy, who smiled that big, moon-pie smile of his. Isak watched with the warmest feeling as Even excused himself from his conversation and made his way over to Isak and the girls. 

“Halla,” he said, sitting down between him and Eva, who’d scooted over, and pulling Isak between his legs. 

“Hei! Even! We were just talking about how excited Isak used to get when you came over,” Noora filled him in. Even laughed, pressing a quick succession of kisses into Isak’s neck. 

“He still gets excited to see me, don’t worry.”

“Huh? I get excited? You’re the one who greets me at the door whenever I come home!” Isak laughed. Even pouted. 

“So you’re not excited to see me, baby?” he asked, and Isak rolled his eyes, leaning in for a quick peck. 

“You know I am,” he said more softly. Eva squealed. 

 

“Alright, alright, everyone. Time to play the baby guessing game,” Magnus said later on, loudly enough that everyone calmed down. He held up a board that he and Mahdi had snuck away to make at the beginning of the party, which was now filled with tacked up baby pictures from the squads. 

“Some of these will be easier than others,” Mahdi said now, nodding at the baby who was clearly him. 

The game was fun, and some of the results were surprising- everyone spent about ten minutes debating whether one baby was Vilde or Noora, turns out it was Magnus- but by the time that was over Isak was antsy to get his presents. 

Soon enough, he was seated at the head of the room, Even behind him, party hat still on and with a pile of presents surrounding him. Clapping his hands, he looked around for which one to pick first. 

“Okay, I’ll go with this one,” he decided eventually, picking up a red and blue wrapped gift.

“That’s mine,” Mahdi nodded. Excited, Isak tore into it. Inside, there was a set of crib sheets and a quilt. They were light pink and purple, with tiny snowflakes embroidered into the edges. 

“Mahdi, dude, these are so perfect!” Isak exclaimed excitedly. “They’re gonna fit right in with the room!”

Mahdi smiled that big, happy smile of his and gave Isak a highfive. 

Next was Eva and Jonas’s present, which was big and perfectly wrapped by Jonas’s expert hand. Isak ripped the paper off, squeaking at the sight of a little white crib. “Where did you get this, oh my god?!” he asked, admiring the craftsmanship. It was adorable and perfect. 

“My mom,” Eva said. “She had a couple old cribs of mine and hers and stuff.”

“Thank you so so much,” Isak gushed, putting the present to the side. 

The rest of the presents went similarly. Noora got them baby monitors, outlet covers, and baby proofing materials. Chris got a bunch of random things; bottles and bibs and pacifiers and a pack of diapers. Mikael bought a highchair, Adam bought a crib mattress, Mutta a bunch of baby food and Elias bought some little hats and onesies and things, including a pair of sunglasses, “So she can look cool like me.”

Magnus got them a little pink shag rug and a pink and white lamp. Vilde got five beautiful, hand-painted french fairy tales, and Sana and Yousef bought a white bookshelf. 

Finally, Liv gave Even’s old, white changing table and Marianne gave her old rocking chair and ottoman. “Hand-me-downs are a sentimental mother’s way of avoiding spending money,” Liv said, but everyone knew she was kidding. 

 

By the time everyone was heading out, it was late afternoon. “We should start setting things up,” Isak whispered as people gathered their things. 

“We can do that tomorrow, angel,” Even replied, pulling the smaller boy close to him and pecking his forehead. Isak smiled, but the smile soon turned into a yawn. “You need to rest now.”

“Mm, I’m fine,” he mumbled, falling close into Even’s side. The older boy wrapped both arms around his shoulders, rocking him back and forth slightly. 

Everyone was gone soon enough, leaving them to their nice cozy life once more. “Go lay down,” Even instructed when he walked in from the foyer to find Isak gathering up used cups. 

 

“Nei, you shouldn’t have to do this all yourself,” the younger boy argued. 

Even came up behind him, wrapping both arms around his middle, and kissed the nape of his neck. “Lay down for me, baby,” he said quietly, and he felt Isak relax. 

“Lay with me, then,” the green eyed boy said, turning to face him. 

“Alright,” Even complied, walking them both to bed and stripping. Isak followed suit and soon they both climbed under the covers, Isak laying on his back on top of Even’s chest. 

“Do you think she’ll be early?” Isak whispered. 

“I don’t know, baby,” Even replied, rubbing up and down Isak’s freckly arms. 

“It’s less than a month til the due date,” Isak mumbled, shutting his eyes. “I can’t wait. I just want to hold her, Evy. We’ve been waiting so long.”

“I know, angel. I can’t wait either,” Even whispered. “Oh my god, I’m going to be so happy, baby.”

“I know,” Isak smiled. “Me too.”

“Get some sleep now,” Even said, squeezing Isak’s shoulders. 

“I think she’s gonna come early, Evy,” Isak said, clearly drifting. “I don’t know why.”

Even smiled. “Maybe you’re right,” he nodded. 

“Maybe,” Isak mumbled back, and then he was asleep.


	16. Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright<3 this is like 19 pgs long on my computer. I hope you love it as much as I loved writing it<33

Chapter 16

“Ev!” Isak shouted from the kitchen, bent slightly over his laptop. 

“Yeah, baby?”

“Do you think we should get a bottle warmer?”

Walking over to him, Even wrapped both arms around Isak’s shoulders and rested his chin on top of the younger boy’s head. “A what?”

“A bottle warmer. So the bottle isn’t too cold.”

“Can’t we just microwave it?” Even asked, and Isak pulled forward and whipped his head around. 

“Nei? You’re never supposed to do that. Then it’ll be too hot! You’re supposed to run it under warm water!”

“Well then can’t we just do that?” Even laughed, pulling Isak close again. 

“Mm,” Isak grunted. “We could. But people are getting bottle warmers now.”

“Come on, angel, we don’t need that,” Even said softly, leaning down and kissing his ear and then his temple. 

“You’re right,” Isak nodded. “But we do need a baby carrier. So we can strap her to our chests when we walk around.”

“Oh my god, you are going to look so fucking cute with her strapped to your chest,” Even squeaked, kissing him all over again. Isak giggled. 

“You’ll look cuter,” he said happily. “You’re gonna be super pappa.”

Even smiled wide, hugging him tighter from behind. “Baby, she’s gonna be here so soon!” he said. 

“I know. I’m so ridiculously excited.”

“Can you even wait to feel her tiny little hands?”

“I just want to hold her, Evy. I’m so excited.”

“We can put her in such cute little outfits!”

“And she’s going to be so soft-”

“-and smell so good!”

Isak turned and stood with a hard huff, both hands under tummy, and leaned up to give Even a peck. “Oh my god,” he said quietly. “She’s going to be here so, so soon.”

They stood holding hands for a few seconds, foreheads knocked together. “I love you,” Isak whispered. When Even went to open his mouth, though, one of their phones started ringing loudly. 

Chuckling, Even pecked his boy again. “I love you, too, baby boy,” he said quietly before they both moved to look for the ringing phone. 

“Fuck, found it,” Isak said, toeing at the jacket he’d dropped on the ground earlier, where they could both see the light of his phone shining through. Again with both hands under his tummy, he attempted the squat-and-lift routine, but in less than a second Even was laying one hand on his shoulder and bending over to pick it up.

“Here,” the older boy said as he took it out, handing it over to Isak, who smiled and picked up quickly. 

“Halla,” he said, waddling into their bedroom and sitting on the bed. Even followed, sitting behind him and leaning against the headboard. He half listened to Isak’s conversation. 

“No, Mahdi,” the younger boy was saying. “I mean, I don’t think so.” Taking the phone away from his ear, he turned to Even. “Have you seen Mahdi’s jacket?”

“Nei,” Even shook his head. 

Isak nodded, talking into the phone again. “Nei, Even hasn’t seen it either… well the shower was over a week ago, don’t you think we would’ve seen it by now?... That sucks… Why don’t you check Magnus? You were at his the other day, right?... Yeah. I’ll tell you if we see it… Okay, dude, bye.” Hanging up, Isak dropped the phone and fell back into bed with Even. 

“How is he?” asked Even about Mahdi, raking his hands through Even’s hair. 

“We didn’t talk all that much,” Isak replied, shrugging. “Evy?”

“Hm?”

“Do you think we need to get her a bathing suit?”

“What?” Even laughed, smiling. 

“A lot of people get bathing suits!”

“I don’t think she’ll be swimming anytime soon.”

“But maybe she’ll need one.”

“If she needs one we’ll buy one,” Even replied, reaching down to pet Isak’s fluffy hair. The smaller boy looked up at him.

“Are you ready?” he asked quietly.

Even smiled warmly. “Yeah, baby. I think I’m ready.”

“Me too,” Isak replied, pushing his head up into Even’s hand. 

“Come here,” the older boy said, holding out his arms, and Isak hastily shimmied up to him, pressing a quick kiss to his mouth before laying back down. 

Even wrapped one arm around his shoulder. “You’re so amazing,” Isak said softly, nuzzling into Even’s side. 

Leaning down, the blue eyed boy kissed the top of his head. “Sweet boy,” Even mumbled. “You’re the amazing one.”

“Nei,” Isak breathed, wrapping his arms tighter around Even’s waist. The older boy didn’t hear him. 

“What do you want to do today?” Even asked eventually. 

“Stay in bed,” Isak said. “Chill.”

“I would love to do that with you, baby, but I have work,” Even reminded him. 

“Ugh. Whatever. I’ll just watch Netflix or something.”

“Okay, sweetheart. Don’t watch any of our shows without me.”

Smiling against Even’s chest, Isak ghosted a soft kiss there. “I won’t.”

“Good.”

“When do you have to leave?” 

Checking his watch, Even sighed. “Half an hour.”

“Stay with me til then,” Isak said. 

“I will.”

 

They did lounge together for the next thirty minutes, mostly talking about nothing, until Even had to head out. Not before peppering Isak and his tummy with kisses, of course, but then he was gone. 

Isak continued to lay in bed for a few more minutes, until he got bored. Standing with a lot of effort, he wandered around for a bit, debating what to do. He thought maybe he should eat, but he wasn’t hungry. Instead, he moved to the nursery. 

Since last week, Even had painted it a light, almost irridescent purple color. The crib was in one corner, little mattress and blankets set up nicely. Along the adjacent wall was a tiny little bookshelf, on top of which was Magnus’s lamp and inside of which were Vilde’s books, along with others they’d picked up or their parents had given them. Magnus’s rug was in the middle of the room and the changing table was on the left of the third wall. All of her little clothes were in a dresser next to it. Back on the wall with the crib, on the other end, was the rocking chair. Walking over to it now, Isak sat down and put both hands over his stomach. 

“Hei,” he whispered. “Hei, sweet girl. I’m in your room right now. Pappa set it all up for you.”

He looked around. “You’re going to like it a lot in here. I can already see you playing in here when you’re a little older. We’re going to play with you so much.”

Rubbing over his navel, Isak sighed. “When you come, Pappa is going to be the first person who holds you. Oh, he’s been waiting so long, little girl. He’s going to be happier than he’s ever been.

“I hope you look just like him. I know everyone says that, but I mean it. I mean… your pappa is like the sun. Even if you look like me, though, you’re still going to be beautiful. You’re going to be so beautiful, baby. And so, so good. I already know.

“God, I can’t wait to hear you laugh. We have your baby book all ready to mark all your milestones in. Trust me, angel, we’re going to keep track of everything. Pappa’s a little… impulsive, but I’m organized. I’ll do it. He’ll help, too. He’s going to be his very best for you. Our sweet baby girl.

“The best part of this room is that everything in here came from somebody who loves you a lot. Already. I know I’ve said it a lot, but you’re going to get so much love, sweetheart. You’re not even born and everyone’s already in love with you.

“Especially me and pappa, though. You have no idea how much we love you. When you come, I feel like… I feel like a hole is just going to be filled. You’re going to make everything perfect.”

Pausing, Isak looked around the room again. And then he lowered his voice, as if telling a secret. “When are you going to be here, baby girl?” he whispered. “I told Pappa I thought you’d be early. Now I’m almost sure. I can feel it. You’re thirty-seven weeks old in there. I just know you’re going to come soon.”

Isak continued rocking for a bit. The room was peaceful and warm. It reminded him of the best sort of dream. The type you don’t want to wake up from. Luckily, they never had to wake up. 

Because it was so peaceful, though, he did end up drifting off, surrounded by the smell of baby powder and Even. 

 

It was a while before he woke up. There was something warm and wet seeping between his legs and Even standing over him, one hand on his shoulder. “Issy, baby,” the older boy was saying, head tilted, eyes worried. “You peed your pants again.”

Isak, dazed, looked at the clock. It was a few hours later, and Even was home from work now. He felt something zap between his hips: a sharp, grinding pain. “Here, take your pants off, sweetheart,” Even was saying, concern in his eyes. Isak stared at him, mouth slightly open. 

“Evy?” he finally whispered, reaching out and cupping his face. Even drew in his eyebrows. 

“Are you okay?” he asked immediately, looking Isak up and down. 

Isak nodded. “I didn’t pee my pants,” he said calmly, standing with a huff from the rocking chair. Even grabbed his arms, helping him. Once he was up, Isak looked Even over, a smile writing itself across his face. Even still seemed lost and worried. Falling into his chest, Isak tucked his head in the nook of his neck. “My water broke,” he said quietly. 

He could feel Even go rigid against him. Suddenly, the blue eyed boys hands were on his shoulders, guiding him away. Even searched his face. Isak nodded. Closing his mouth and swallowing, Even nodded back. 

“You’re in labor?” he asked. 

Laughing wetly, Isak said, “Yeah. Yeah. She’s coming.”

Even was still nodding, taking the occasional gasp, tears in his eyes. “Okay,” he said hurriedly. “Okay.” 

Reaching out, Isak took one of his hands. “Yeah,” he nodded. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

“We should go to the hospital,” Even said too quickly, suddenly turning and looking for his keys. Isak kept hold of his hand, pulling the older boy back to him. 

“Not yet,” he shook his head. “We have to wait a while.”

“Right,” Even said, looking around. “Right.” He fidgeted. 

“Evy? Can you get me something to drink? I’m going to go sit down in bed,” Isak said, seeing that his boy needed something to do. 

“Of course,” Even nodded seriously, and then he was walking out of the room. 

Isak made his way slowly to the bedroom, sitting down on the edge of the bed after changing. He was panting. He reached behind him for his phone.

First, he texted his mom. 

 

Isak: Mama?

Mama: Isak<3

Mama: What do you need sweetheart?

Isak: I don’t need anything

Isak: I’m texting to tell you the baby is coming<3

Mama: Oh! 

Mama: Oh, my love! Are you on your way to the hospital?

Isak: Nei, it isn’t time yet. 

Mama: Okay. Tell me as soon as you leave. I’m so excited for you and Even. My sweet boys<3

Isak: I will Mama. We’re so excited too<3

 

Next he decided to text Jonas. 

 

Isak: Bro

Jonas: Hey

Isak: Guess what

Jonas: IS IT TIME

Isak: hahahaha

Isak: How did you know?

Jonas: OMFG ISAK 

Jonas: ARE YOU AT THE HOSPITAL????

Isak: No it’s not time yet

Jonas: FY FAEN THIS IS SO EXCITING

Jonas: WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO THE HOSPITAL

Isak: I don’t know, it could be a while

 

Suddenly, he got a message from Eva.

 

Eva: YOU’RE HAVING THE BABY?!!??!?!??!??!?!?!?

Isak: Haha, yeah

Eva: HAHA YEAH?

Eva: ISAK YOU’RE IN LABOR

Isak: Yep

Eva: UGHUIEGDIBEI STOP BEING SO CALM

Eva: ME AND JONAS ARE FREAKING OUT

Isak: I can tell

 

There was a bunch of messages from Jonas piling up, too, and Isak was about to reply to them when he felt another contraction hit. These were a lot worse than the false ones. Making a hurt sound in the back of his throat, he bent over slightly. 

He heard Even walk back in and open his eyes. “Are you okay baby? Are you sure we shouldn’t go to the hospital?” the older boy said frantically, walking over and putting Isak’s glass of water on the ground. He got on his knees, looking up at his boy with worry. “You’re sweating.”

“It’s- fine,” Isak grunted, nodding and shutting his eyes again. “We’re not supposed to go until it’s five minutes apart.” 

“Well- what can I do? Do you want to lay down?” Even asked, reaching up and brushing back some of his boy’s hair. 

“I just- let’s just walk around, yeah? I think it’ll help.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Even stammered, reaching under Isak’s arms. The smaller boy latched around his neck, standing on shaky legs as the contraction subsided. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Isak nodded, squeezing Even’s free hand. He took a few deep breaths. “I told Jonas and Eva. We were talking when it hit. They’re probably freaking out.”

“They’ll be fine, baby,” Even said, words tripping over themselves. He was shaking like a leaf. 

Looking up at him, Isak took his boy’s face between his hands. “Evy?”

“Are you ready to go to the hospital?” Even jumped, looking Isak up and down again. 

Smiling warmly, Isak stood on his toes to press a tender kiss to Even’s mouth. “No, my love,” he said quietly. “But I need you to breathe with me, okay?”

Even nodded to quickly. “I can do that. I’m breathing.”

“I know. But I need you to calm down.” Isak gave a happy, sincere smile. “Everything’s okay!” he said, voice brimming with excitement. “I promise, okay? And by this time tomorrow, we’re gonna have a baby!”

Even took a deep, shaky breath, smile blooming over his face. “Yeah,” he breathed. “Okay.”

They continued walking around, Isak telling Even everything the baby would be doing in every inch of the apartment. “See, that’s where she’ll eat breakfast. God, we’re going to have so many shirts ruined trying to feed her,” or, “Evy, we’ll be able to play with her right here. We can set up all her little toys.”

Every once in awhile, a contraction would hit and they would stop moving, Isak panting and holding under his stomach. “Even, get a lighter shirt,” he grunted out during one of them. Even quickly did as he said, reappearing with a tshirt and peeling Isak’s sweater off, tossing it onto the ground. 

“Is that better?” 

“Yep,” Isak said through his teeth. “Mmm, fuck.” This one was lasting longer, nearly thirty seconds. “You should start tim- haaa!” In the middle of his sentence, the pain practically doubled and Isak gritted his teeth, squeezing Even’s hand probably too hard. 

“I've got you, angel, I've got you,” Even was saying worriedly, running up and down his back. 

“Fuck, I need to sit down, I need to sit down!” Isak started saying frantically, knees going weak. 

“Okay, okay, stay with me,” Even said, holding him up under the arms with all his strength. He guided Isak back to the kitchen table, sitting him at one of the chairs. Slowly, the contraction passed, and Isak could breathe normally again. 

“You should start timing how frequent they are,” he said after a few seconds of silence. Even nodded, immediately taking out phone and opening the clock app. He set a stopwatch up and then went to get a wet washcloth for Isak's sweaty forehead. 

“Here, sweet boy,” he said, and Isak took it. 

“Thank you,” he nodded. 

“Are you okay? Do you want to move to the bed?” 

“Nei, nei, this is fine.” 

“Does it hurt?” 

Looking up with half annoyed, half fond eyes, Isak said, “Does it sound like it hurts?” 

Even pouted. “Baby,” he said, leaning down and kissing the crown of Isak's head. 

“It's fine. It'll all be worth it soon.”

“I hate seeing you in pain.”

“Just think of this as payback for the time you broke your arm when you got sloppy drunk with Mikael,” Isak replied. 

Laughing wetly, Even nodded and kissed his hair again. “She's gonna be here so soon!” he said. 

“I know!” 

Even took out his phone to check the stopwatch. It had been two minutes. He also had a litany of messages from Jonas and Eva. 

Jonas: WHAT’S HAPPENING ISAKS NOT RESPONDING 

Even: he's fine, it's just hard to type through the contractions 

Jonas: IS HE OK

Even: Yep!! We’ll text as soon as we leave for the hospital. Tell Eva the same thing 

Jonas: ok!!! 

Jonas: good luck bro<3

Even: <3 

 

He put his phone away. Four and a half minutes, and Isak was fine.

“What do you wanna do, baby?” Even asked. 

“I don't know. This is so weird. I feel like I shouldn't be doing anything, but I also don't wanna just sit here. This waiting is torture.”

“Would it help if we put on a show?” Even asked, and Isak slowly nodded. He held out his hands, and Even helped to hoist him up. He made a hurt noise and Even immediately looked him over, checking to see if it was a contraction, but Isak shook his head. 

Slowly, they made their way to the couch and sat down. Isak stayed leaned slightly forward as Even put on an easy comedy. They both watched silently, hands clasped, until Isak's grip grew tighter. His eyes were squeezed shut and his head was hanging between his shoulders. “Mmm,” he hummed low in his throat before dropping his mouth open and letting out a strangled sound. 

“Breathe, baby, breathe,” Even reminded him, checking the stopwatch. 6 and a half minutes. This was going more quickly than he'd anticipated. 

“I'm fine,” Isak shook his head, “I’m fine, everything's fi- aaoooh fuck, fuck fuck fuck!!”

“In and out,” Even was saying. 

“Even, sweetheart, I love you, but do not tell me what to do right now,” Isak said brokenly, before letting out the loudest scream yet. He squeezed Even’s hand so hard that three of his knuckles popped. “FUCK, EVEN, FUCK!” 

“I'm right here, I've got you, I've got you,” Even said, grimacing at the pain in his hand. Suck it the fuck up, he thought quickly. 

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. 

“Ignore it,” Isak shook his head, coming down from the pain. He loosened his grip on Even. The knock came again, louder this time. “Sorry about your hand,” the green eyed boy said. 

“Doesn't even hurt, baby,” Even lied. The knock came a third time and now the person was pounding. 

“GO THE FUCK AWAY!” Isak shouted. 

“I'll just tell them to leave, angel, I'll be right back,” Even murmured, kissing the side of his head and hopping up. 

He ran quickly to the door, shaking out his hand. Once he got there, he saw one of their neighbors, arms crossed. 

“Hei?” Even asked, looking her up and down. 

“Um, hallo? Can you please quiet down? You just moved in and I'm having my boyfriend’s parents over for the first time and it is really, really uncomfortable to sit there listening to you guys have sex! I mean seriously, what are you even doing to each other?! The volume is out of control!” she sputtered angrily, cocking her head. 

Even stared at her for a second. Was this a joke? Was she kidding? 

Suddenly, Isak shouting “EVEN COME BACK,” snapped the blue eyed boy out of it and he blinked at his neighbor. 

“Sorry about that,” he said, smiling. “We're not having sex, he's in labor. Afraid there's nothing I can do.” 

He closed the door just a split second before the look of complete surprise crossed her face. 

“I'm coming, baby.” 

 

By evening, they'd finished an episode and a half of the show they were watching Isak's contractions were coming five minutes apart. “Alright, baby, it's time to go, okay?” Even was saying, arms around Isak's shoulders as the younger boy screamed. 

“Ow, ow ow ow ow!” he shrieked, punching the couch cushion repetitively. “Even, oOWW!”

“I know, I know, I've got you,” Even said, kissing the side of his head. 

“Fuck, FUCK- Even, it hurts so bad, oh my god!” 

“I'm sorry, angel, I'm sorry.” 

After a minute, the pain lessened, and Isak took some deep breaths. “We gotta go,” he said. 

“I'll get the bags,” Even hopped up and ran to the bathroom. 

Soon he came back with all their things and ran up to Isak. “Come here, baby,” he said. He put one arm under Isak's armpits and hoisted him up. Holding both bags in one hand and Isak with the other, they made their way towards the door. Once they got to the door, Isak stood on his own, clutching his tummy with both hands. 

Even opened the door, holding it open for Isak to waddle through, before following him out with their bags. He then quickly ran to the stairs. Fuck. 

“Ev,” Isak whimpered at the daunting task of walking down two flights of stairs. 

“I've got you, sweetheart,” Even said quickly. He put down the bags, locked the door, and then walked to Isak, shouldering the younger boy's arm and taking almost all of his weight. “I've got you.” 

Groaning, Isak started to make his way down, Even practically holding him upright. Soon, they were at the bottom of the stairs. Even quickly ran back up and then made his way down again with the bags in hand. 

“Alright, alright,” he muttered, walking to their car and unlocking it. He then helped Isak- who was still leaned against the side of the building- into the passenger’s side. 

“Can you text everyone that we're going to the hospital now, baby?” Even asked, swinging into the driver’s seat. 

“Mmhm,” Isak nodded. “Should I tell your mom?” 

“Yes, please,” Even nodded, putting the car into drive and backing out. 

Taking out his phone, Isak started texting. 

Isak: Heading to hospital, tell Eva 

Jonas: ok bro!! You got this!! I love you so much man<3 

Isak: <3 

 

Isak: Hei mama, we just left for the hospital! Contractions are 5 mins apart!

Mama: Okay sweetheart! I'm so excited<3 see you soon my love

Isak: see you soon!! 

 

Isak: Hei Liv, we're going to the hospital now! Contractions are 5 mins apart!

Liv: Oh honey! We’ll be there!! Good luck, sweetie, you're so brave!! 

Isak: Thank you<3 

 

Deciding it would be best to do this now, Isak sent out a text to the big group chat. 

 

Isak: Halla all, the baby's coming! We're headed to the hospital! 

 

Immediately, he started to get responses. 

 

Magnus: WHAT 

Magnus: She's early!!!! 

Mahdi: Oiiiii dude!!! You got this!!! We're all so excited!

Magnus: YAYAYAY 

Noora: What??? Omg Isak!! Yay!!! We're going to be there!! 

Sana: Good luck best bud, I know you got this<3 

Magnus: GUYS BBY EVAK IS COMING!!!

Chris: OMG 

Chris: you guys are gonna be such good parents! 

Vilde: AHHH YAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

There was one last person to text. 

 

Isak: Eskild! It's time, guru! 

Eskild: My sweet baby Jesus is having a baby! 

Eskild: I'll be at the hospital asap<3 

Isak: <3 

 

In the middle of sending this last heart, Isak felt crippling pain zap through him. “Oh- oh Jesus f-UCK!” he shouted, squeezing the arm rests as tightly as he could. 

“We'll be there in five minutes, angel,” Even murmured, reaching over to put one hand on Isak's knee. “We’ll be there soon.” 

“Ow ow ow FUCK, EVEN, OW! AaaaAAHHH WHAT THE FUCK?!” 

“I know, I know, I'm here,” Even said, taking one of his hands and letting Isak squeeze him into oblivion. 

“OoooOOWWW, WHY DOES THIS-” Isak suddenly stopped midsentence, letting out a squeak and then just sitting with his mouth open, eyes shut, and grip deathly. 

“I’ve got you, angel,” Even said quietly, stroking Isak's thumb despite the numbness he was currently experiencing in his hand. Isak shook his head, pressing his lips together, and a few tears slipped out from underneath his pretty lashes. 

“Fuck,” Isak squealed once he could talk again. He took a few, fragmented, high pitched breaths. “Ev,” he choked out quietly, wiping at his face. 

“She’ll be here so soon, angel,” Even promised, squeezing his hand. “You’re doing so well.” 

Isak leaned forward, panting wetly. “Okay,” he breathed after a beat, tipping his head back. “Okay. Mmm. Okay.”

“I love you so much, baby,” Even said. “I love you so, so much.”

Isak nodded, holding Even’s hand tighter. “I love you, too.”

“My sweet, sweet boy,” Even murmured. “You’re so strong, angel.”

They pulled into the hospital a few moments later. “Mm, Ev, I can’t,” Isak shook his head when the older boy got out and opened his door. 

“I’ve got you, baby boy. I’ve got you,” Even whispered, “I’ve got you.” He latched his arms under Isak’s, letting the younger boy hold around his neck. 

Breathless and exhausted, Isak got out of the car. They quickly walked into the hospital and got to the front desk before being escorted to where the doctor had been waiting for them since Even called. “Here,” a nurse said, sitting Isak in wheelchair. Even held onto his hand tightly. 

 

Soon they were in their room, Isak laying back in bed with both hands over his stomach. “She;s going to be here so soon, angel. Our beautiful baby girl,” Even was saying, sitting next to him and holding both of his hands. Isak laughed wetly. 

“Evy, she’s gonna be so perfect,” he said, nodding. 

“I know, angel,” Even said, finally starting to cry, too. “I know.”

Just then, another contraction hit, but it was less painful since Isak had been given an epidural. He just hung his head and hummed in the back of his throat. Even stroked his knuckles soothingly. “They’re going to start to procedure soon,” Isak panted. 

“I know, baby,” Even said. “I’m so excited.”

Isak didn’t reply, only tried to focus on breathing as the nurse walked back in. 

“Isak?” she asked. He looked up at her, grimacing. “We’re going to start the surgery in a few minutes. I just have to give you some regional anesthesia first, okay?”

“Mmhmm,” the younger boy replied. 

 

A bit later, he couldn’t feel from his waist down. A curtain had been layed over his top half, too, so he couldn’t see it either, and there was a team of doctors and nurses hovering around, performing the c-section. Even was alternating between watching the procedure and watching his sweaty, exhausted boy. 

“Baby, we’re almost there,” he mumbled into Isak’s hair. 

“Mm,” Isak nodded, holding his hand. 

“I love you, angel,” Even said softly, tears running down his face. Isak looked up, smiling weakly. 

“I love you, too.”

A few more minutes passed, and then the most beautiful sound they’d ever heard filled up the room. 

“Oh,” Even gasped. “Oh, she’s crying. Issy, baby, you did it. Oh my god.” 

The doctor was holding her- their slimy, alienoid, wailing little baby girl. She twitched and screamed louder. “Pappa,” one of the nurses nudged Even, “time to cut the cord.”

He took the medical scissors out of her hands and snapped the cord in half. “Alright,” the doctor said, handing her over. 

Their daughter. 

Their baby girl. 

“Oh,” Even said again, sitting on the bed next to Isak. “Hi,” he laughed wetly, looking down at her tiny, wrinkled little face as she squirmed in his arms. “Hi, baby. Hi.”

She latched onto his finger with one of her tiny fists, and Even stuttered out a gasp. “Oh, we love you so much, little girl. Our sweet, sweet girl.”

Isak was crying next to him, staring down at her. Even passed her over, and he quickly shifted to take her. “Hi, baby. Oh. Oh my god, we’ve been waiting so long to meet you,” he said, stroking her tiny red cheek with one finger. “Hi.”

The baby continued squirming, wriggling in his arms as she screamed. “Alright,” the doctor said, “We’re going to go clean her up and check her ears and eyes, okay? We’ll bring her back in a few minutes. 

One of the nurses gently took her our of Isak’s hands. He was reluctant to let her go, but as soon as he did his head fell back into the pillow. On the other side of the curtain, they were stitching him back up, but he was drowsy and barely felt a thing. 

“Issy, my love,” Even was saying, leaned over him and stroking his sweaty forehead. “Oh my god, angel, you did so well. You did it, baby.”

Isak laughed. “Yeah,” he nodded. “Oh my god, she’s here.”

Leaning down, Even kissed him, gentle and loving and wet with all the tears that had run down his face. 

 

Twenty minutes later, Isak was stitched up and covered in a few blankets, Even was laying beside him on the bed, and Isak was cradling Faina to his chest. “Look at her tiny nose,” Isak whispered, tilting his head. 

“I bet it’ll be just as squishy as yours,” Even said, reaching out to stroke her little cheek. She was swaddled and capped and sleeping, now, and she looked like a little angel. “Oh my god. Our baby girl.”

Suddenly, Faina made cooed and sighed, squirming. “Can I hold her?” Even asked, and Isak handed her to him, shifting so he could watch. 

“Hi, little one. We’ve been waiting so long to meet you,” he said. She sighed again and snuggled close to him. Isak leaned his head on Even’s shoulder. “We love you so much. And we’re already so proud of you, baby girl. You’re so perfect, angel.”

Isak reached over to put his hand on Even’s, supporting her head. “She’s so perfect, Evy,” he said quietly. 

“She’s so perfect,” Even repeated. “I love you so much, Issy.”

“I love you, too. And I love you so much, baby girl,” Isak replied, tenderly stroking the side of her little head. She cooed. 

Even’s smile grew impossibly wider. “Our baby,” he whispered. 

Looking at him, Isak nodded. “Our little girl.”


	17. Seventeen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First chap with the lil angel<3

Chapter 17

“Ahh,” Isak said, face serious, as he lifted Fiana in the air. She stared down at him, eyes wide. “Zuzuzuzu,” he said as he rushed her back down, scrunching up his nose and smiling, and she immediately burst into peals of laughter, kicking her tiny, chubby legs. Isak pulled a straight face again as he straightened his arms, too. “Ahh!” She stopped laughing, staring at him again. There was a beat of silence before he brought her down, making the same silly noise as last time, and she started squealing the instant he did so. 

Isak was on his back, laying in their bed, with his three-months-old, beautiful baby girl in his arms. As she giggled against him, reaching both arms down for him to hold her properly, he couldn’t imagine being happier. Unless…

Suddenly, he heard the door to their apartment unlock. “Uh!” he gasped, sitting up and tucking Faina into his hip. He looked into her beautiful baby blue eyes and tilted his head to the side, mouth open in mock-surprise. “Pappa’s home!” 

In response, Faina stuck as much of her fist as could fit into her slobbery, toothless mouth. 

Standing, Isak kept her on his hip as he walked out into the foyer, where Even was hanging his coat up. “Halla,” he said warmly, smiling so wide it nearly hurt. Even turned at the sound, a similar smile coming over his own face. 

“Halla, angel,” Even said, walking over and tucking one hand around Isak’s waist, leaning down to kiss his tilted-up lips. Isak hummed. Once they pulled apart, Even gasped. “And halla, baby girl!” he said, taking her from his boyfriend and holding her high in the air. She immediately burst into new squeals of laughter, kicking wildly. Even brought her back down, peppering her chubby little neck with raspberry kisses as she shrieked. “Were you a good girl today, sweetheart?” he asked, pulling away.

“Always,” Isak replied, resting one hand on the small of Even’s back and his head on the older boy’s shoulder. “She was a little fussy earlier,” he said, pretending to sound cross, “but soon she settled down and let me get some rest.”

“You were a good girl for dada?” Even asked, eyebrows raised. Faina stared at them happily, precious little smile on her face. “Oh, you’re so good, sweetheart!” Even said, bringing her close to his chest and letting her lay there while he supported her. He leaned over to give Isak another kiss on the cheek before moving to the living room. “How was your day, baby?” he asked over his shoulder.

“It was good! We just hung around. Very chill.”

“I’m glad,” Even replied, holding her close. Faina started cooing, slapping at Even's torso. Leaning down, he kissed her head. “Was she really fussy?”

“Nei, she was alright. She did not want to be changed after she woke up, but she was fine after that. She’s been laughing a lot today,” Isak replied, sitting at the kitchen table.

“You’ve been laughing?” Even asked the baby, who was sucking on her hand again. He moved around, looking for a bottle to give her for dinner. Dinner was his feeding session. “What’s so funny, little one?”

She didn’t reply, of course, and only banged her now spit-covered fist into the Even's shirt, giggling at the sound it made. 

“How about your day?” Isak asked, tilting his head. Even sighed. 

“It was alright. Everyone was annoying me, though. I just wanted to come home and be with you two the whole day.”

Frowning, Isak stood and walked behind Even, who was now running the bottle under warm water. He latched his arms around the older boy’s waist and leaned his cheek against Even’s upper back. “I’m sorry, my love,” he said. 

“It’s chill. I’m here now, right?”

Even turned around, still trapped in Isak’s arms, and laughed when the younger boy tilted his chin up. After pressing a quick succession of three kisses to his mouth, he wiggled away and guided the bottle nipple to Faina's mouth. She immediately started sucking, making the cutest little noises, as Even bounced her on his hip. 

“What are we doing tomorrow? On your big day off?” Isak asked, sitting down again and taking out his phone. 

“I don’t know, baby, whatever you want,” Even replied, smiling. 

“Hmm,” Isak hummed, looking up at him. “Well, first of all, I want to start your day off tonight, as soon as she goes to sleep,” he wiggled his eyebrows. 

Even made a shocked face and looked down at their innocent baby, who was still sucking away. “Isak! You’re corrupting her!”

Shrugging, Isak replied, “She’ll live. Then tomorrow I want us to go out somewhere. Get her outside a little. Even if we just walk around town.”

“Are you sure you don’t just want to show her off?” Even laughed. 

Gasping, Isak put one hand to his chest. “I don’t know about you, sir, but I would never exploit my gorgeous, adorable little girl!”

Suddenly, Faina turned her head from the bottle, making a little sigh, but Even absentmindedly guided it back to her mouth, and, as if realizing that yes, she was still hungry, she eagerly started sucking again. “Whatever. I’m not protesting. You look hot with her strapped to your chest,” the blue eyed boy shrugged.

“And you say I’m corrupting her,” Isak rolled his eyes. Even laughed, walking over to him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t touch or kiss the younger boy, who was sitting, but Isak quickly noted this dilemma and stood. Even leaned forward, brushing their lips together. 

“I love you, baby,” he mumbled against Isak’s mouth. 

“I love you, too.”

Faina pulled off the nipple again and whined, kicking her legs into Isak’s waist from her position on Even’s hip. “Okay, okay,” the blond boy laughed. “He’s all yours,” he said, gesturing to Even and backing away. 

“Did you miss me, baby?” Even asked, smiling at her. She started bouncing herself harder on his hip, making a little frustrated noise at the fact that she was no longer eating, and Even gave her the bottle again. 

“She always misses her pappa,” Isak said from the table, scrolling through his phone. “She gets so excited when you come home.”

“I wish I didn’t have to work so much,” Even frowned.

“I start class in a week, then we’ll have equal amounts of time with her. Plus, she loves you so, so much, Evy. She doesn’t care that you work, she’s just excited when you get home,” Isak said, looking up and tilting his head at the older boy. 

“Yeah,” Even replied, looking down at Faina, who was still sucking away. 

 

Twenty-five minutes later, she turned away from the nipple, whining when Even tried to guide it back to her mouth and squirming away from it. “Okay, sweetheart,” Even said, putting it back in the fridge and lifting her up off his hip and over his shoulder slightly, patting her back. 

“Careful,” Isak said, standing and grabbing a rag from one of their drawers, putting in on the back of Even’s shoulder, under Faina’s little head. “She spit up on me earlier.”

Frowning, Even ghosted a kiss over the side of her head. “You felt sick, baby?” he asked as he continued burping her. 

“She’s alright now,” Isak said, running one hand over her soft head. “It was after breakfast. She’s been fine since then.”

“Did she ruin your shirt?” asked Even, pulling Isak close to his other side. 

“I washed it, it was fine.”

“That’s good,” Even kissed the younger boy’s temple. Suddenly, Faina burped, and they both gasped. 

“So good, baby!” Even said, pulling her away and holding her at arm’s length. “What a good girl!”

“Oh, you’re being so sweet for pappa,” Isak laughed, taking her and holding her warm little body to his chest. He took a deep breath, calmed by the smell of her. “Do you know what time it is, angel?”

She gurgled, hitting his chest. 

“It’s bathtime!” Even revealed, putting one hand over her back. “We’re going to give you a nice, warm bath, baby girl!”

She squirmed in Isak’s arms, cooing. “Yeah?” Isak laughed, kissing her forehead. “You like that?”

They walked to the bathroom, Isak holding Faina against his chest still, and Even quickly set up the little baby bath, filling it with three inches of water that was “warm but not hot to the inside of the wrist.” He then put the little bathmat on the floor and Isak layed her down, taking off her onsie. She giggled, grabbing at her feet with her tiny hands and smiling up at them. 

“Are you excited for a bath, baby?” Isak asked, poking her chubby little tummy, and she squealed, hitting his hand. “Oii,” Isak laughed, taking his hand away and then cupping her tiny head. 

“Alright, angel,” Even said, lifting her and soothing her, feet first, into the bath. She shrieked, kicking and splashing immediately. “Hey, hey,” Even laughed. “Calm down, baby.”

Still giggling, she squirmed around in the water. Holding her head up, Even dipped one of their little plastic cups into the bath and then poured it over her tummy. “Baby, can you get her clothes?” he asked Isak, who nodded and stood up, walking out of the bathroom and into the nursery. 

It was dark in there, lit only by her little lamp. Stuffed animals littered the floor and he kicked a few out of the way as he made his way to her jammie drawer. As he was picking out something for her to sleep in, he got a text. 

 

Jonas: Hey man

Isak: hey, sup?

Jonas: nothing, just checking in

Jonas: hows the angel

Isak: haha, she’s good

Isak: Even’s giving her a bath rn

Jonas: cool 

Jonas: can I come over sometime soon?

Jonas: I miss her

Isak: I’m hurt you don’t miss me

Jonas: eh

Isak: haha, you can come over on monday if that works

Jonas: ja that’s good

Isak: k see you then

Jonas: see you

 

Jonas loved that baby. Which was to be expected, he’d loved her from the moment he found out about her existence. Everyone loved that baby, honestly. After she was born- May 18th, 2019, 21:21- he was the first of their friends to meet her, along with Eva. 

 

Liv, Alex and Marianne had just left, and they were still in bed together, Isak holding Faina against his chest. She was only an hour and a half old. When Jonas and Eva came in, they were both a little awestruck. “Hey,” Jonas whispered, walking over. Eva was holding his hand. 

“Hi,” Isak whispered back, smiling up at them almost shyly. Even was tucked next to him, one arm around his shoulder, other hand over Faina’s tiny little swaddle. Jonas and Eva came to the side of the bed, and Isak instinctively brought Faina a little closer to him, already wary of having new people around her, despite the fact that he’d trust Jonas and Eva with his life. 

“Can I hold her?” Jonas asked, peering down at her little face curiously. 

“Mmhmm, just put on hand sanitizer,” Even replied, and they both squirted a pump from the bottle on the bedside onto their hands. So, so carefully, Isak handed her to Jonas first. She squirmed slightly, sighing. 

“She’s so tiny,” Jonas whispered, staring at her sleeping face. She huffed out a few breaths. “Wow. I can’t believe she’s actually here.”

“I know, Isak replied, snuggling closer to Even, who threaded their fingers together and kissed the side of Isak’s head. They were both staring at Jonas and their baby, watching for any problems. 

“We’re going to have a lot of fun together, Faina,” Jonas said quietly, rocking her a little. 

“Let me hold her,” Eva said, reaching out, and Jonas gently handed her over. Isak tensed up at the exchange, but they were cautious and it was fine. Eva cooed, looking down at her. “Oh, she’s so beautiful, you guys,” she whispered, blinking a little too quickly to not be crying. “She’s so precious.”

Suddenly, Faina wriggled around and hiccuped out a small, thin cry. “I think she wants you,” Eva said, passing her back down to Isak, who smiled and took her willingly. 

“It’s alright, baby girl,” he said quietly as she continued to whimper. “We’re here now. It’s okay.”

Even cupped her tiny face in his hand, stroking her cheek as gently as possible, and she soon stopped whining and settled back into sleep. 

“We’ll give somebody else the chance to come in,” Jonas whispered. “Congratulations, you guys. She’s amazing.”

“Thank you,” Isak replied, not looking up from her peaceful little face. 

Jonas and Eva backed out, and soon thereafter Eskild, Linn and Noora made their way in. “Hi, baby gay,” Eskild said, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed immediately. “How’re you feeling, buddy?”

“Tired,” Isak replied. “But also happier than I’ve ever been.”

Eskild beamed. “How’s my baby gay’s baby?” he asked, peering over Isak’s arms at Faina’s little face. “Oh, she’s adorable, guys. I always said you’d make a beautiful baby.”

“Here,” Isak said, shifting to hand her to Eskild. 

“Huh,” Eskild gasped quietly. “Hi there, little girl. I’m grampa Eskild. That’s what she’s calling me, right? Grampa Eskild and Granny Linn.”

Linn, from where she was standing over him, cracked a smile and let out the softest laugh. Isak rolled his eyes fondly. “Sure. She’ll have three sets of grandparents.”

“And how are you, pappa,” Eskild asked, turning to Even, who was smiling wide enough to answer. 

“Perfect,” Even said, watching Eskild rock Faina slightly. 

Eskild nodded, grinning, and looked down at the baby as she sighed. He looked up at Linn. “You want to hold her?”

The red haired girl nodded, holding out her arms, and Eskild stood and handed her to him. 

Once she was holding her, she stared down at Faina like she was made of glass. “She’s really small,” she said after a while. Isak laughed.

“Yeah, she is, like, an hour old.”

Faina squirmed and squeaked, making Linn’s eyes grow wide. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” Even nodded. Linn nodded back at him, standing still as a statue.

“For God’s sake, Linn, you can move,” Eskild said after a minute. Linn looked at him and then back down at Faina. 

“Hi,” she whispered, bouncing on her heels ever so slightly. “You’re very small.”

“Oh, I want a turn!” Noora whispered from where she was standing over Linn’s shoulder, clasping both her hands together. Linn turned and handed Faina to her, looking a little relieved. 

“Hi!” Noora whispered immediately, rocking the baby back and forth. “Hi, little girl! Oh, you’re so adorable!” She leaned down, taking a deep breath on top of Faina’s head. “You smell so good! Oh my god, you’re so perfect, little girl!”

After a few more minutes, they left too. Magnus and Mahdi came in next. Magnus was practically bouncing off the walls on way over, but as soon as Isak offered her to him to hold, he froze. “I can hold her?”

“Yeah, man, if you want,” Isak nodded, and Magnus nervously sat on the side of the bed, taking her into his arms. 

“Wow,” he breathed after a silent minute of just staring at her. He gently ran one finger over her little cheek. 

Mahdi sat beside him. “Yeah, guys, wow. She’s beautiful,” he said. Magnus still wasn’t speaking, only staring at her in awe, until he eventually handed her to Mahdi, where he continued to watch her every little movement. Mahdi rocked her slightly, grinning down at the tiny, sleepy little girl. 

“Hi, Faina,” he whispered. “You’re beautiful. We’ve all been so excited to meet you.” He glanced at Isak and Even. “How was it?”

“The labor?”

“Yeah.”

Isak looked at Even, the biggest smile blooming over his face. “Worth it,” he whispered. 

Next, after Mahdi and Magnus left, Vilde and Chris came in, each wearing the biggest, happiest grins. “Hei,” Vilde whispered immediately, walking over and sitting down. “How do you feel?” she asked. 

“Alright,” Isak replied. Even was holding her now, and they were both staring at her. “Do you wanna hold her?” 

Vilde nodded excitedly, taking her from Even as he passed her over. “Hi there, baby girl,” she said, looking down at her pretty little face. “I’m Vilde. I think we’re going to be good friends. You’re very beautiful and adorable.”

“She looks a little like an old man,” Chris said, peering at her.

“Chris!” Vilde protested, and Even laughed. 

“But a very cute old man. Not the creepy type,” Chris added, holding up her hands. “Can I hold her?”

Vilde passed her off, and Chris stared down at her with wide eyes. Suddenly, Faina fidgeted and sneezed, and the brunette snapped her head up. “Is she allergic to me?”

“I think she’s fine,” Isak laughed, reaching out to take her back. He missed the feeling of her against him already. 

Finally, after they left, Yousef and Sana came in. Sana marched right over and held out her hands, and Isak passed Faina over gently. Cradling her as if she were the most precious thing alive, Sana studied her, straight-faced, until her mouth bloomed into the widest smile. “She’s perfect, best bud,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked at Isak and Even. “You guys are going to be such good parents.”

Yousef came up next to her, and Sana handed the baby to him. “Oh, hello there! You are a beautiful girl, aren’t you?” he whispered, holding her. “You’re going to be so smart and kind and good when you grow up!” 

The rest of the balloon boys came by tomorrow. Elias held her the longest, gently touching her little nose and cheeks and fingers as she squirmed around, before passing her to Mutta, who told Even she was a lot cuter than him. Mikael and Adam sat on the edge of the bed, passing her back and forth and cooing for what felt like hours. 

And neither Isak nor Even had witnessed so much love for one tiny little creature. 

 

Now, Isak was smiling at the memory when Even called him. “Issy, baby, can you get a diaper, too?”

“Sure,” he called back, snapping out of it. He grabbed a diaper and carried it and Faina’s pajamas back into the bathroom. She was still having the time of her life in the tub and Even’s shirt was now half soaked. 

“Thank you, my love,” the blue eyed boy said as Isak put down her things. He leaned in for a kiss and Even gave it to him happily. 

Soon she was ready to be taken out of the bath, which was always a process. Faina hated leaving the nice, calming warm water and being dried off, naked and chilly. They always tried to keep her room nice and warm, for this reason among many, but it was still difficult to get her to stop screaming bloody murder as they toweled her off. Now, for instance, she was sobbing in the utmost distress as they laid her on the changing table and tried to put her diaper on. She was squirming and shrieking shrilly, face bright red and wet, and both boys were grimacing. “It’s alright, baby, everything’s okay,” Even tried to soothe, but she just started screaming louder. “Is, can you get her pacifier?”

Isak quickly grabbed the pacie off the bedside table and walked over to her, trying to guide it to her mouth, but she turned her head and continued wailing. “Come on, angel, here,” he said, trying again, but she hit it out of his hand. “Faina!” the younger boy said sharply, bending over to pick it up. She kept trying to wiggle out of Even’s grasp until he finally managed to get the diaper on her and picked her up, holding her against his chest and bouncing her gently. 

“Shhh, shh, everything’s okay, baby,” he said as she screamed into his ear, kicking at his chest. Isak grabbed her jammies and took her from Even, sitting her down and trying to pull the little soft little onsie on. 

She kicked and screamed, struggling so hard you’d think he was torturing her. “Baby, calm down,” he said a bit crossly, trying to guide her little hands out of the sleeves, but she kept pulling her arms back out. Even came up behind him, rubbing out some of the tension in his muscles. 

Finally, after about thirty minutes of wrestling, they got her completely dry and dressed. Even ran out of the room to answer a quick phone call as Faina’s screams sniffled into whimpers. Isak lifted her again, holding her close and warm. He hated seeing her cry, it frazzled him to no end, whereas Even was more calm about it, though he worried more otherwise. “Everything’s okay, angel. I’m right here. I’ve got you,” Isak whispered now, kissing her wet little cheek as she relaxed against him, exhausted from crying herself out. She sighed, closing her little fist tight around his shirt. Isak rocked her gently, humming in her ear. She was so warm and sweet and gentle. 

Just then, Even walked back down. “Sit down, baby,” he said, leaning one hand on Isak’s shoulder, and the younger boy did as he said, sitting in the rocking chair and putting his feet up on the ottoman.

Walking to the bookshelf, Even pulled out a book, and then made his way back to his boyfriend and their sweet baby, both of whom were now looking sleepy and sated. Even sat down on the rug across from them. He opened the book to the first page and started reading, quickly wrapped up in the story of adventure and fairies and fantasy. 

Not too long later, Faina’s breathing evened out and Isak felt her go completely limp in his arms. Lifting one finger to his mouth, he gestured to her with his head. Even nodded and, ever so carefully, took her from Isak’s arms and set her down in her crib, where she sprawled out, little chest rising and falling peacefully. Isak walked over, tucking himself into Even’s side, putting one hand in his chest and leaning his head into the older boy’s shoulder. They watched her sleep for a few minutes before Even leaned down and kissed Isak, who nodded once they pulled apart. Even checked if the baby monitor was on, and, then, Isak’s hand still in his, he turned out the light and they left the room.


	18. Eighteen

Chapter 18

Isak just wanted to go home. 

It was late out and dark and he was fucking miserable. Class had been hard to follow and he’d gotten a 5 on his latest exam and he had a killer headache from being up more than half the night last night trying to calm down their screaming six month year old, who was apparently not upset for any reason in particular. 

The crying started at midnight, only about half an hour after Isak had gone to sleep. As soon as he woke up, he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Even was still sleeping next to him, one arm thrown over his back, and Isak knew he had a big test tomorrow, so he shrugged the older boy off and stood up, walking to the nursery. 

Still about ninety percent asleep, he lifted her from her crib, and walked her over to the rocking chair, sitting down and rocking her back and forth as soothingly as he could. “Shh, shh, baby girl, it’s okay, I’m here,” he said, “I’m right here, baby girl, you’re alright.” 

She just kept wailing, squirming in his arms aggressively. “Baby,” Isak whined, bouncing her. He lifted her up to smell her diaper, but that was all clear. “Everything’s okay, just try to sleep, angel,” he murmured, holding her against his chest as he started rocking again. He was so fucking tired. Everytime he nearly fell asleep, though, she’d let out a particularly loud wail and snap him back awake. “Okay, okay,” he said after a while, standing and laying her on the changing table. Maybe she’d peed or something. He changed her on autopilot, despite her insistent screaming and squirming. Six months. She had just turned six months old. His mom had said they should start letting her cry herself to sleep at six months, but he’d forgotten until this moment, and he felt too mean leaving her now. 

“You’re okay, angel,” Isak said quietly, sitting back down in the highchair and shifting her up a little. “You’re okay.”

He just kept rocking her like that, forehead pounding and half asleep, until god knows how long later she hiccuped to a stop and sat quietly in his arms. Isak didn’t say a thing, just kept rocking back and forth, until he felt like she was fully asleep, at which point he got up and layed her down in the crib again. He walked slowly back to bed, climbing in beside Even and curling his side. The older boy chose that moment to wake up. “Baby?” he asked, voice gravelly. 

“She’s asleep,” Isak replied, tugging on one of Even’s hands so the he would spoon him. Even complied, rolling over to draw Isak close to him. 

“What time is it?” he asked, and Isak shrugged against him. He felt Even reach over for his phone. “It’s three, baby.”

Groaning, Isak pulled the blankets tighter around him. Even kissed the back of his head. 

“Sleep now, angel,” he murmured, tightening his grip around Isak’s waist. They were both out in five minutes. 

 

But then Isak’s alarm was blaring at six thirty because his class was half an hour away and he needed to be there by eight and he just wanted to fucking call in sick or something but he needed to be there and so instead he got up, walked to the bathroom, and tried not to cry while brushing his teeth. 

 

And now, on his way home for the day, he was exhausted. Like, painfully exhausted. All he wanted to do was scream and cry like he was the baby, so he jammed his key in the lock angrily and turned the door and then… all of that anger and frustration melted away. 

He could hear Faina giggling all the way from the foyer, as well as Even’s booming laugh. “So good, baby!” he was saying about something, and as Isak heard this, his headache magically disappeared and all he wanted was to be with his boy and their baby girl. 

Taking off his coat and moving to the living room, he found Even on the couch and Faina on her back on a blanket on the floor. The coffee table had been pushed up so there was tons of room around her, all of it carpeted. “Halla,” Isak said, leaning against the door frame. Even looked up at him, giving that 1000 watt smile of his. 

“Hei, my love,” he said, watching as Isak walked over and sat next to him. Even slung one arm around his shoulders, kissing him a few times. “How was your day?” he asked as he pulled back, leaning their foreheads together. 

“Fine,” Isak said softly, kissing him again. Even gently cupped his cheek, pulling it back slightly, and man did Isak love this. Suddenly, Faina squealed, and Isak pulled away, eyes lighting up and eyebrows rising as he realized she was now on her stomach. 

“Did you roll over, baby girl?” he asked excitedly, leaning over to pick her up and bounce her on his knee, both hands securely around her tiny tummy and back. She babbled excitedly back, trying a few claps, during which her hands didn’t quite line up, but that was alright. She was covered in spit, as usual, but that was alright, too. 

“We learned something new today,” Even said, reaching over to run one hand over her little blonde head. She had a little baby mohawk right now, all ruffled from moving around all day, and she was in a little yellow dress. Isak distinctly remembered seeing one of her flowery headbands in her hair in a picture Even had sent him earlier, but it had long since been abandoned. 

“Wow, you’re getting so big, angel!” Isak said, kissing her tiny forehead. She squealed again, her whole face scrunching into the prettiest smile, and then threw her arms around his neck. Laughing a little, Isak wrapped one arm around her and put the other underneath her, lifting her to his chest, where she clung to him. “Sweet girl,” he murmured, hugging her back and trying not to start crying. “Sweet angel. How are you so good, baby?” 

They stayed like that for a while, Isak closing his eyes as he took deep breaths, enjoying everything about her. Eventually, though, she started squirming, probably hungry. Reluctantly, Isak let her go, handing her to Even, who cooed. He got up and followed them to the kitchen, watching as Even put her in the highchair. Once the older boy started getting out some of her baby food, he moved and collapsed against his backs, taking a few more deep breaths, because there were two things that smelled like home. 

 

Later, once she was asleep and Isak was in bed and Even was showering, he finally let himself start crying. Nothing was even wrong, really, but he was just so tired, and she’d been fussy almost every night for a week straight, and if she started crying again tonight he didn’t know what he’d do. It was Even’s night to get her, but the older boy almost always slept through her crying, and Isak felt too bad to wake him. And, so, here he was, laying in bed with a book, blinking rapidly and wiping at his face. He heard the shower turn off and knew that Even would walk back in any second, but by this point it was too late. 

Even came back in with a towel around his hips. “Baby,” he said immediately, frowning and walking over. He sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out and wiping one of Isak’s tears away. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” Isak shook his head. “I’m just exhausted.”

“Are you sure? Have I been- is something-”

“No, no no no,” Isak shook his head, cupping Even’s face in his hand. “I am so happy, Evy. I’m just really, really tired. But I’m all amped up, and I can’t sleep.”

Frowning, Even leaned forward and kissed him, pushing them both down into the bed. “I’m sorry, angel,” he murmured. “I should be getting up more at night.”

“It’s not you,” Isak immediately shook his head. “I’m just tired. She’s a baby, she cries. That’s all.”

“If she wakes up tonight, your ass is staying right here in this mattress,” Even said, hovering over him. 

Isak rolled his eyes. “I’m tired, Evy, that’s just a thing that happens,” he said, making Even do his eyebrow thing. 

“Do I have to make sure you’re too sore to get up?” he asked, and Isak flushed, rolling his eyes again. 

“I mean… it wouldn’t hurt,” he said, and that was all the invitation Even needed to drop his towel and lean down to start kissing his boy. 

 

The first time they’d fucked after the birth, Faina was about two months old, and Isak was terrified. He’d been pretty private about his recovery- the mild bleeding that he woke up most mornings, the T shaped scar on his lower abdomen, the stretch marks that were even more visible now that his tummy was flat again. If anything went wrong, of course he would tell Even right away, but otherwise it was just so… embarrassing. And the thing was, he knew Even would never, ever tell him if he thought Isak was less sexy now, but if they started getting it on and he could just feel that Even wasn’t into it, somehow that would be so much worse. And, so, when he was changing one afternoon and Even came up behind him, wrapping both arms around his waist and squeezing, Isak practically jumped out of his skin. “Ev!” he squeaked, spinning around and holding the shirt he’d picked out over his torso. 

“Halla, baby boy,” Even had hummed, kissing him. “Mmm, fuck, baby, it’s been eight weeks, the doctor said we have the go ahead, and she’s passed out. I’m sure we have time.”

He was already a little hard, Isak could feel, and the younger boy did feel bad, because he’d gotten Even pretty used to his 24/7 horniness and then they’d gone cold turkey. But damn, he was not prepared for this right now. He knew Even would be totally okay if he said he didn’t want to, but it wasn’t even that he didn’t want to, he just didn’t want Even to see him and be… disappointed. 

Even, however, wasn’t aware of this issue, and was still kissing Isak. When he felt the smaller boy’s lack of response, however, he pulled back and searched his face. Hot with shame, Isak looked at the ground, still clutching the shirt over his chest and tummy. “Baby?” Even urged, nosing at him. “It’s okay if you’re not ready.”

“It’s not that,” Isak breathed. “Just, um. I look a little… you haven’t really seen… you might not like how things look. And it’s okay if not. I mean… it’s really different now.”

“Issy, baby,” Even started tugging him close, but Isak shook his head. 

“I know you’re gonna say you’ll always find me beautiful and stuff, and I know you think that and I love you so much for it, but I don’t, um… I just keep thinking you’ll say that, and then maybe we’ll start messing around and I’ll feel that you’re just… not as into it. And that wouldn’t even be your fault, cuz I-”

“Sweetheart,” Even took both of his hands. He moved them to the bed, sitting Isak down and pulling him close. The younger boy sniffed. “Let me see you, okay?” he asked. Isak nodded, hesitantly dropping the shirt. Even stared down at his messy body, now riddled with imperfections in a way that was new and terrifying to Isak. 

Slowly, Even moved from the bed and got on his knees in front of his boy. He reached forward, gently tracing a few of the stretchmarks and then running one hand over his scar. Isak shivered. “Look at that, baby,” he said, staring at the T with intense eyes. “Look at that.”

Flushed, Isak looked down. All he saw a was a angry, red, swollen line and a litany of pale purple lightning bolts. Ever so tender, Even leaned forward and kissed the scar. “Do you know what I see?” he whispered, and Isak shook his head. “Here I see where she kicked,” he said, pressing one of the stretch marks. “And here? Here I see where she got the hiccups and you freaked out,” he laughed softly, tracing another. “Here’s where she kicked hard enough for me to feel, our little warrior princess. And here’s where she started getting ready to be born.” He moved down, gently touching the scar again. “And here? Here’s where she was born, baby. Here’s where you brought her light into our lives.”

Isak blinked, trying not to cry. 

“And if you think that I could ever look at that,” he gestured to Isak’s whole tummy, “and see something other than amazing, you’re pretty stupid. But you’ve got better marks than I ever have, so I know that can’t be the case.” He grinned, sitting on the bed again to wipe at the tear that had managed its way down Isak’s face. “And I understand if you don’t want to do anything right now, but looking at you like that made me so hard it hurts,” he half-joked, and Isak laughed wetly, blushing. He glanced down before looking back up at Even again, taking his boy’s face between his hands. 

“I think,” he laughed nervously, “that I should help you get a little more comfortable, then.”

 

Now, he was still a little awkward, but not only were the scar and stretch marks less noticeable, Even had proven time and time again how beautiful he found them. Licking into his mouth at this moment, Even groaned, lifting him slightly by the small of his back. Isak giggled into his mouth when he crawled over him, knees on either side of Isak’s hips, and leaned down to take off his boy’s shirt. As soon as it was gone, Isak fell back into bed and wrapped his arms around Even’s neck, grinding up into him. “Mm, baby,” Even whispered, pulling off of his mouth and sucking down his neck, marking him up, claiming him. “You’re so pretty. So good for me.”

“Evy,” Isak whined as he struggled to undo his pants. Even laughed, reaching down and getting rid of them swiftly, leaving them both naked because Isak had apparently opted out of boxers. 

“Fuck,” Even hissed upon seeing this. “So hot, baby, so beautiful.”

“Ev, I-” Isak stuttered as Even started kissing down his abs. “Please,” was all he managed to get out as the older boy licked his naval. 

And, oh yeah, he was way too sore to get up when Faina started crying a few hours later. 

 

The next day, long after Isak had left for class, Even got up to the sound of Faina squirming on the baby monitor. He didn’t have class today and he didn’t have work until the evening, and so he got up with a smile and walked into the nursery, still hazy with sleep. “Good morning, baby girl,” he yawned, leaning over her crib and lifting her out. She immediately stopped whining, instead only clinging to him tiredly. “Good morning.”

Bouncing her slightly, he walked to the changing table and laid her down. She squirmed, smiling up at him as he took off her onsie. “Babababa,” she said, making him smile and hum. 

“What a smart girl already,” he said. “Soon you’ll be talking!” 

Hair hanging low in his face, he slowly changed her diaper, and then picked her up again, walking her to the dresser. “What do you want to wear today, baby?” he asked, opening her drawers and pulling out a little green shirt. He then found a pair of white leggings with a few orange flowers on the ankles and lazily got her dressed, patting down her wild little fuzz of snowy blonde hair. It was now long enough to be tucked behind her ears but refused to be tamed in such a way. Instead of trying, he pulled a little orange cap over her head, smiling at the way her hair curled out from under it, just like somebody else’s he knew. 

Faina giggled, curling up and grabbing her feet and sticking her toes into her mouth. “What are you doing, silly?” Even asked, squeezing her chubby belly and making her squeal. 

He lifted her and walked her back to their room, sitting her in the middle of the bed and propping up pillows all around her as he started getting dressed himself. She cooed and babbled at him, trying to clap, and Even smiled warmly. 

Eventually, they were both ready for the day, and he picked her up again, holding her on his hip. “Ready to go grocery shopping, baby?” he asked, and she squeaked, bouncing up and down in his arms.

Even walked them out to the living room, grabbing the baby carrier and strapping her into it before strapping it onto his chest. She cooed at the way they bounced along, resting her tiny cheek against him as they walked out of the apartment, Even’s keys, wallet and phone all in his pocket. Luckily, the market was within walking distance, and they didn’t need much stuff. As they walked down the street, they got tons of smiles and cooes. “She’s very beautiful,” a few strangers told him, and Even would always smile and say thank you, rubbing her back protectively. 

Once they got to the store, he started browsing the aisles, looking for everything on the list Isak had left. Faina gurgled from her place against his chest, kicking a bit. 

“What should we get, baby?” Even hummed, looking through the shelves. “Do you want peaches our peas?”

Faina babbled, and Even nodded. “Alright, peaches. Peaches for my peach.”

“She’s adorable,” somebody said next to him, and Even turned to find a middle aged woman smiling at them. 

“Thank you,” he said, smiling back. 

“How old is she?”

“Six months,” he nodded. The woman smiled. 

“That’s such a sweet age. Of course, the older they get, the more you realize that they were all sweet ages.”

“Do you have kids?” Even asked, mostly out of obligation. 

The woman nodded. “Two boys. They’re in middle school now.”

“That’s nice,” Even said. 

“How old are you, may I ask?”

Even swallowed. “Twenty-two.”

“Wow. We didn’t have our first until I was thirty. How old is your wife.”

“My boyfriend is twenty,” Even said, looking her dead in the eye. 

The woman opened her mouth. “Oh, how nice,” she said after a minute, before awkwardly taking her bread off of the shelf and walking away. Even watched her go before looking down at Faina, who was staring up at him with wide eyes. 

“She’s silly,” he whispered to her, kissing her tiny forehead, and she squealed. 

 

Once they were home again, he opened a jar of yams and set her in the highchair. “Here it comes,” he cooed, guiding the tiny plastic spoon into her mouth. He made the “nam” sound as she closed her lips around it and she tried to imitate him. 

As he continued feeding the little girl, Even took out his phone. He had a few messages from Isak. 

 

Mannen i mitt liv: Evy my ass hurts and its your fault

Mannen i mitt liv: fuck sana noticed I’m walking weird

Mannen i mitt liv: she won’t shut up

Mannen i mitt liv: send me bby pics to cheer me up

Mannen i mitt liv: EVEN respond to meeeee

 

Laughing through his nose at his needy boy, he took a few pictures of Faina sucking on her fingers, and then a few of her smiling once he caught her attention, and sent them to Isak. 

 

Even: Sorry Is<3 love you angel

Mannen i mitt liv: Where did we get that cap?

Even: Wow, no I love you too Even, mannen i mitt liv?

Mannen i mitt liv: Oh hush

Mannen i mitt liv: I love you too Even, mannen i mitt liv

Mannen i mitt liv: so where’d we get that cap?

Even: I don’t know, my mom gave it or something

Mannen i mitt liv: okay

Mannen i mitt liv: gotta go, love you<3

Even: Love you too bby<3

 

Faina started slapping at the plastic table, spreading the food she’d gotten on her face and then on her hands now onto it. “How do you manage this mess, my love?” Even asked, smiling, and Faina giggled, bringing both hands up to cover her face, as if embarrassed by the question. “Uh!” Even gasped, looking around, “Where’s Faina? Where’d she go?”

Faina squealed as she brought her hands back down, kicking her legs excitedly. “There she is!” Even said, smiling and leaning down to kiss her tiny head. “There’s my baby!”

Squeaking, Faina reached out to him, wanting to be held. “Nei, baby girl, you gotta keep eating,” Even said, guiding the spoon to her mouth again. She leaned forward, trying again to make the “nam” sound he made. 

 

Later that afternoon, they were in her room, playing with some of her toys. Or, playing was a strong word. It was mostly just her banging things against the floor and trying to scoot around the rug while Even acted like puppetmaster and made her stuffed animals talk to her. 

“Babababa,” she babbled as he made her little giraffe tell her how much he loved her. Holding out her arms, Faina bounced a little, wanting him to pick her up. Even smiled, lifting her and blowing raspberries into her neck, making her giggle. When he pulled away from her, she tried a raspberry of her own, which mostly resulted with her spitting on him. 

“Good! Good job, baby!” Even cooed, kissing her all over. Suddenly, he heard the door unlock. “Huh! Dada’s home!” he said, beaming down at her. 

Faina turned her little head towards the door. “Dada?” 

And Even’s whole body froze. Did she just…

“Dada?” Faina asked again, turning back to face him. Slowly, Even swallowed and nodded, the biggest smile taking over his face and his eyes glossing over slightly.

“That’s right, smart girl,” he laughed wetly. “Dada’s home.”

Holding her close, Even walked to the foyer, where Isak was kicking off his shoes. “Halla,” he said, and Isak immediately caught the sniff in his voice and turned. 

“Halla?” he said a bit questioningly as he walked over. “What…”

“Dada!” Faina suddenly squeaked excitedly, holding out her arms to be held by him, and Isak stopped dead in his tracks, staring at her. 

Slowly, he looked to Even. “She just said my name.”

“Yeah,” Even laughed. “She said it when you got home, too.”

“Oh,” Isak brought one hand up over his mouth, smiling too wide to contain. “Oh, baby girl! You just said your first word! What a smart girl!” He took her from Even, holding her up with both hands and smattering her tiny face in kisses, making her giggle. “Oh, you’re getting so big, angel!” 

 

They spent the rest of the evening gathered around her, playing with her and giving her dinner and coddling her because their baby girl had just said her first word. They also texted everybody under the sun what had happened, and everyone was so excited, but none as excited as them. 

“What a smart girl!” they both kept cooing, running one hand over her soft blonde head, letting her hold onto their fingers and babble at them excitedly, often breaking into peals of her little baby laughter. 

Once they put her to bed, they were all exhausted. “Jesus, I can’t believe she’s half a year old,” Isak mumbled into Even’s chest once they were in bed themselves. 

“I know. It’s going by so fast.”

“I can’t believe she’s talking!”

“I nearly passed out when she said it.”

“She’s probably trying so hard to say pappa,” Isak said, snuggling closer to Even. “The p hard is hard to make for them.”

“I know. I’m so excited to hear her say it,” Even beamed down at him, and Isak grinned, popping up slightly to kiss him a few times. 

“How was your day?” the younger boy yawned as he layed down again. “We never really talked.”

Rubbing up and down Isak’s back, Even smiled. “It was really good. I got the food you wanted.”

“Okay. Thank you.” Isak curled one hand around his shirt. “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby,” Even said, kissing his curls.


	19. Nineteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so Even is having an episode in this chapter, a. because I got a lot of requests for it and b. because I've wanted to do this for a while to explore this side of him/ him dealing with this as a parent. I apologize so much if any of it is inaccurate and feel free to point any errors out to me as I want this to be as real as possible! This is also a mild episode fyi, I know they can be more intense but since this story is supposed to be fluffy af I wanted to keep it as light as possible!!

Chapter 19

Even didn’t understand. “She’s just not there yet is all,” Isak kept saying, all quiet and gentle, as if Even was saying something crazy. 

“But- but I did research, and it says that most babies start crawling between seven and ten months, and she’s eight months old, so- what if this means there’s something wrong with her?” 

“Nothing’s wrong with her, Evy,” Isak replied, looking at him with worry written clear across his face. 

And Even hated it. He knew when he was manic- he could recognize his own mood, thank you very much. And he knew that sometimes he chose to ignore it, but this wasn’t even one of those times. He knew. He felt the way everything was too sharp, too grating, too interesting. Too nerve-wracking. But just because he was manic- a stupid word, if you asked him, honestly- didn’t mean he couldn’t have valid concerns about his daughter’s health. So far, she’d been on the early side of every milestone, but now it had been a month and she still wasn’t crawling. And that meant- that meant something was wrong, and they had to go check it out. If Isak wasn’t being so fucking stubborn, maybe he could see that, too. 

“She’s fine,” the green eyed boy said now, bouncing Faina on his knee as she babbled happily. That, too- so far she’d only learned one word since dada, which was “no.” She should have a better vocabulary by now, right? 

“See?” Isak held her out, and Even recoiled. 

He would not; could not hold their baby when he was like this. God knows what he would do with his fucked up brain. Isak frowned. “Ev,” he whispered, scooting closer. “She needs you, my love.”

She needed him? Even stared at her happy little face as she wiggled in Isak’s arms. She didn’t- that’s not- why the fuck was Isak pulling this now?

“She needs to be kept away from me. And she needs to start crawling,” Even shook his head. 

“Even,” Isak said sternly, “she does not need to be kept away from you. You’re not going to hurt her, okay?”

“Fuck off!” Even said before he could stop himself, flinching as the words left his mouth. “I mean- shit, I’m sorry, baby.” They weren’t supposed to swear around the baby. He was fucking it up. “I’m sorry. I’m just- can you please just- I can’t trust myself right now and-” he tried to focus, tried to string a proper sentence together, but everytime he opened his mouth it felt like he was going to throw up anything that came to mind, and he just wanted to stop feeling so out of control. His heart was pounding. 

Faina squirmed in Isak’s hands as he drew her close to him again, holding her tight. “If you want space that’s okay,” he nodded. “But if you’re just scared… I trust you. And if you can’t trust yourself, trust me.”

Even stared at Isak and their little blonde chub in his lap. “I can’t hold her right now,” he shook his head, trying to take deep breaths. Instead of staying there, buzzing, he stood up. “I just- fuck I’m really sick of this.”

“Even, baby,” Isak sighed.

“No,you don’t- you don’t get it. I fucking- I’ve been through it a million times and I know what’s happening, but I can’t change it or stop it. And it’s so frustrating,” he managed, voice catching. 

“You don’t have to try and stop it,” Isak shook his head. “Ride it out. It’s okay. You’re here. I’m here. Faina’s here.” He stood, too, walking to Even and putting one hand on his cheek. “You don’t have to try and destroy this side of you. Just… breathe. Everything’s going to be fine. What do you want to do, baby? What’s going to help you right now? What will make you happy?”

Even didn’t reply. He couldn’t think of anything at all. 

“Would you want to draw us? Like you used to draw me when I was pregnant?” Isak probed, tilting his head. 

Draw them. He could do that. Even could do that. 

“Do you want- do you want to go-”

“Wherever you want. Where do you want to go, my love?”

“Can we just go- outside?”

“Okay,” Isak nodded, even though it was January. He took Even’s hand, walking them both towards the foyer. First, he grabbed Faina’s tiny coat and mittens and boots and hat. “Help me get her ready, baby,” he said to Even, who kneeled down beside him. Isak helped Faina stand while he put on her winter clothes. 

After she was dressed, they both got on their own jackets. “Go get your sketch pad,” Isak said, nodding towards their bedroom. 

 

Once they made it outside, Isak holding his hand and holding Faina with his spare arm, Even felt a little better. At least it was bright and cool out here, it gave his mind things to do besides sparking into a wildfire inside his head. 

“Baby, let’s go to the park,” he said, finally starting to get excited about this idea. Isak nodded, leaning into him as they walked down the street. 

 

They got to the park relatively fast, and sat down on one of the benches. Isak held Faina close on his lap, making sure she was bundled up tight and warm. “We can’t keep her outside in this weather for too long, my love,” he told Even as she bounced and giggled. 

“Okay,” Even nodded. He could draw quick. 

 

A few people passed by and waved at Faina as Even drew. She was having a ball, wiggling in Isak’s lap and giggling whenever something interesting happened. Even wished she would stop moving so much, but it was alright, she was little. “Shh, baby girl,” Isak would whisper occasionally, leaning down to kiss her cheek or forehead. She grabbed onto his finger and flailed it around for a bit before he withdrew it, aware that Even was trying to concentrate. 

“No?” she questioned at this, turning to take his finger again. 

Isak patted her capped head, running one gloved finger over her tiny cheek. 

But, not too long later, she started to get red in the nose. “Evy, baby, we should take her in,” Isak said, just as Even was getting the shading of her nose down. 

“Can’t we just-” he started, but then he looked at her flushed little face and nodded. “Okay.”

 

He tried to finish the drawing at home but suddenly realized that what really needed finishing was the nursery. He’d promised Isak he’d paint little mountains around the trim and never had. 

And so he squatted down and started edging the room with tiny, jagged mountains, face up close. Isak kept hovering around him, saying something about the smell of the paint, and Even just wanted him to leave so that he could focus. 

After the fifth intervention, when Isak layed one hand on his shoulder and said, “You really should get away from those chemicals, Evy,” he’d had enough. 

“Fuck off, okay?” he said irritably, spinning around with the paintbrush in hand and splattering Isak and the walls and furniture behind him. Faina, startled by this, started crying in Isak’s arms, burying her little face in his shoulder. Bouncing her, Isak stared down at Even for a minute before nodding and walking out of the room. 

Even felt shit. He knew it was true that breathing in all these chemicals wasn’t good for him and he knew that Isak was only trying to help, but this mania wasn’t all excitement and great ideas, it was fucking grating on him and Isak knew that and so didn’t he understand that Even just wanted to be left alone?

 

The mountains were done. They were blue, yeah, which didn’t fit the room’s theme- Isak was so anal about consistency- but they were done. 

Instead of going to bed, though, he decided to go out on the balcony. 

Where’s Faina? he thought while walking out the small doors. I should hold her out like that Lion King scene. 

He pictured it, lifting her over the rails and holding her out for the world to see. And something inside him starting oozing as he realized what a dangerous thought that was. 

Walking over to the rail, he leaned against one, looking down. His brain was so fucked up he thought of holding his baby over the edge of their balcony. His fingers were jittering.

“Evy?” 

Isak’s voice was small but firm. Even looked at him over his shoulder, body starting to shake, too. He’d taken off his shirt to paint and it was snowing now. 

“Come inside, baby, let’s go to bed. It’s almost four in the morning.”

“Why are you up?” Even asked quietly. He could feel himself getting tired. He’d known he was manic for a few days now and finally all of that energy was draining out of him. 

“I was waiting for you,” Isak said, voice worried. He walked closer to Even. “Please come in. You know I can’t sleep without you.”

Even kept staring down the balcony. It wasn’t too far of a drop. He realized he was leaned out pretty far, standing on one of the rungs instead of the floor. “Ev,” Isak said, and his voice cracked slightly. “Come inside. I can make food if you want. Or we can just lay. Just come lay with me, baby.”

“Don’t be upset,” Even said sternly as he turning again to look at Isak’s face, which, he was now realizing, was terrified. 

The younger boy let out a wet laugh, blinking too fast. “I’m not upset,” he shook his head. “It’s just windy and cold. Just come inside with me.”

Slowly, Even nodded and stepped down, walking over to Isak, who grabbed him in a tight hug. “Oh, sweetheart,” he said, holding around him like Even would slip away if he let go. 

“I’m sorry,” Even whispered, hugging him back. Isak pulled away and tried to smile up at him. 

“Don’t be sorry,” he fake-laughed. “Everything’s fine. I just missed you is all. Now let’s go in, okay?”

Even didn’t miss the tremor in his voice. He didn’t miss the fact that Isak locked the balcony doors behind them, either. 

 

He didn’t hear Faina crying in the night, though she must’ve. Instead he wasn’t able to hear her screaming until he woke at some time in the late morning or early afternoon. Isak was out of bed and Faina was wailing so shrilly he thought his head was going to split open. 

Isak has her, he thought as he tried to drift off again. 

By the next time he woke up, it was nearly dark out and his chest felt like it was being ripped out of him backwards, like gravity had taken a stronghold in his heart. Yesterday Isak had given him three frostbitten kisses and he’d felt the dredges on this fucking nightmare start to weigh down his bones, but now there were no kisses and his bones were heavy liquid silver. 

He’d hoped that maybe this wouldn’t happen. That maybe his mild up would simmer into nothing, but instead it had simmered into this mild down, which luckily didn’t leave him immobile and mute like they could but still managed to make him wonder what the fuck he was doing on this earth. 

Faina was still screaming. She probably hadn’t stopped for hours. 

He thought of last night, how he’d wanted her to take her from the bassinet in their room Isak had put her in because her room reeked of poorly painted blue mountains, how he’d wanted to carry her outside in the middle of a frigid January night and hold her over a two-story drop and sing “The Circle of Life,” how he’d wanted to hold her with hands that took orders from a brain that didn’t work. 

But you didn’t do that, he heard Isak’s voice telling him, but then Faina let out a particularly loud scream from some other room and he couldn’t help but blame himself. 

He could feel himself starting to cry, too- what kind of father couldn’t get up and help his baby girl? He knew Isak was doing everything he could, but maybe there was something she needed that only he could do. Unlikely, since he couldn’t even take care of himself, but possible. His limbs felt like lead and he just wanted everything to be quiet, but then Faina’s wails grew even more despaired and he decided that no, he would not lay by if there was something he could do to make her feel better, and he stood, head pounding. 

Everything felt dark and heavy as he walked from the bedroom out towards the kitchen, where he heard the screams coming from. He could hear Isak, too; his frantic, soothing whispers. “Shh, shh, it’s okay, baby girl, everything’s okay.”

It was only when he got to the kitchen doorframe, though, that his heart froze in his chest. 

Because Faina wasn’t just screaming. 

She was screaming for him. 

“Papppaaaaaaa!” his little girl was wailing, clinging to Isak even though he clearly wasn’t who she wanted. 

She’d never said pappa before. 

Dada, yes. Dada was frequent; it applied to Isak and only Isak. When she wanted Even, she would hold out her arms and babble, sometimes saying something that sounded kind of similar to “baba.” But never, ever had she said pappa. 

“Shh, baby, pappa can’t come right now,” Isak was saying, bouncing her. She was bright red in the face, tears streaming down her cheeks as she wailed. 

“Pappa pappa pappa!” she hiccuped, kicking her legs, and then her little eyes blinked open mid scream and she caught sight of him from over Isak’s shoulder and immediately stuck out her tiny arms towards him, letting go of Isak’s shirt. “Pappa!!” she screamed. 

Isak, feeling this change, spun around. He was a bit teary, too, and it broke Even’s heart. “Hei,” he breathed, trying to smile. “You should lay down, Evy, I’ve got her.”

“Is she… is she saying…” Even managed, voice breaking. 

Isak managed a watery laugh. “She’s been saying it ever since you didn’t come out for breakfast. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want to make you feel worse.”

Faina was now squirming aggressively in his arms, sobbing out “pappa” so devastated that Even started crying harder. “You don’t have to take her,” Isak shook his head. “It’s okay, she’ll be okay.”

Even shook his head back, covering his mouth with one hand. Once he was confident he wouldn’t just break down right there, he took it away and took a long, shaky breath, holding out his hands. Isak immediately walked over, handing her to him. “It’s okay, baby girl,” Even said brokenly, crying in earnest now as she continued wailing in his arms. “Pappa’s here now. It’s okay.”

Faina slowly stopped screaming, holding tight around his neck, her warm little body trembling with the exertion of being so upset for so long. “Pappa,” she said firmly, as if ordering him not to go anywhere, and then she took a long breath and stopped crying, just holding onto him. Even, on the other hand, was crying so hard he was shaking, silent and painful. He rocked back and forth, holding her tight and kissing the side of her tiny head a couple of times as she let out a few hiccupy breaths. Isak put one hand on his arm, and that was all Even need to turn to his boy and bury his head in Isak’s shoulder, shuddering. Isak pulled him as tight as he could without squishing Faina.

“You’re okay,” the younger boy said into his hair. “She’s okay, baby. She’s okay.”

“I just- I can’t-” 

“Shh,” Isak rubbed his back. “Everything’s okay now. You’re brave, Evy. So good.”

Even took a few deep breaths, pulling away. He held Faina out slightly, looked at her precious little face. She blinked at him, annoyed at being disturbed, and stuck out her lower lip, preparing to cry again. But then she seemed to pick up on Even’s distraught face and reached out to touch his wet cheek. “Pappa,” she said, palm flat against his cheek bone.

“Everything’s okay, angel,” he said, shaking his head with a watery laugh. “Pappa’s here.”

Slowly, Isak guided him back to their room. None of the three of them their bed for the rest of the day. She stayed with Even at all times, and it began to dawn on him that he hadn’t let himself hold her in three days. Now, with her sleeping on top of his chest, crying whenever he tried to hand her to Isak to go to the bathroom, he wondered how he could’ve done that to her. 

“She loves you so much, Evy,” Isak whispered, curled into him, head on his shoulder. They were both sitting a little bit upright so that Faina could sleep comfortably on Even. “But sometimes, if you can’t be there… she’ll be okay. She’ll understand, more and more as she grows up. And she won’t love you any less for it.”

“I just feel like I’m going to fail her,” Even finally admitted what he’d been thinking for the past week, tears flooding his eyes. 

“Oh,” Isak sighed, scooting up. “Oh, my love.” He put one hand on Even’s face. “Listen to me. You’re not going to fail her. First of all, look at her,” he nodded towards their sleeping baby. “She’s in heaven with you. Second, even if you hadn’t been able to come out for her earlier, she would’ve been fine. She’s a baby, so she can’t understand that sometimes you need to be alone, but as she gets older she’ll understand. And she’ll be okay. And she’d be okay now, too, because, like I said, she’s a baby. She would’ve calmed down eventually. But the thing is,” he whispered, “you did come out for her. And even if you’re not able to sometime in the future, you did this time, when you were able, and that must’ve been so hard. But you did it. Because you’re an amazing father and an amazing person, Even Bech Næsheim. And she already knows that, even though she’s just eight months old. She already loves you so, so much.”

Even didn’t speak, only stared down at her. “We should put her in her nursery,” he said after a while. “She shouldn’t sleep between us, it’s not safe.”

Isak nodded, standing. “Do you want me to take her?” he asked, but Even shook his head and picked up her tiny, sleeping body. She made a soft noise. 

After laying her down in her crib and walking out of the nursery, Even pulled Isak into a tight hug, burying his face in the smaller boy’s hair. He felt himself start trembling as tears sprung into his eyes once again. “Baby?” he asked quietly as Isak rubbed up and down his back. 

“What is it, Ev?”

“I’m sorry for telling you to fuck off,” Even said, voice breaking in shame, and he felt Isak sigh. 

The younger boy pulled back and took Even’s face between his hands. He tilted his head, searching Even’s teary eyes before cracking a small smile. “Hey, one time I screamed fuck you at you for making me eat half a piece of toast,” he said, voice a bit sad and a bit hopeful. “It’s alright.” He knocked their foreheads together before giving Even a soft kiss. “Do you want to go to bed?”

Slowly, Even took deep breaths and nodded. Isak threaded their fingers together and lead them back to their room. 

“Are you tired?” the green eyed boy whispered as he pushed back the sheets and wiped down the bed, trying to rid it of any crumbs and make it clean. Then he fluffed up the pillows. All of this made Even want to cry even more. 

He thought about the question. He was drained, yes, but he didn’t think he’d be able to sleep right now. “Can we watch something?” he asked softly.

Isak nodded, turning around and grabbing his laptop. A small smile played at his lips, the first sincere one Even had seen him wear in a while. “She said pappa,” he whispered, looking up at Even with eyes full of hope. 

And that’s when it really hit him. She said pappa. She wanted him. She loved him. 

A small, exhausted smile pulled at his own mouth and he walked over to bed and sat down. “She did.”

“I was so excited,” Isak whispered. “Oh, she loves you so much, Evy.” He crawled into bed, sitting up and patting his thighs. Even took the cue, laying down and resting his head there. “Help me pick something,” the younger boy requested. 

They scrolled through Netflix lazily. 

She’d said pappa. 

Even had always been so terrified of this. Being there for his child when he couldn’t even be there for himself. And he was still terrified, but for now, she’d been there for him, and that had given him more strength than he could imagine. And, so, with Isak playing with his hair and Faina sleeping soundly after saying his name for the very first time, he realized he wasn’t quite as scared anymore.


	20. Twenty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright I don't really love this chap all that much but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I hope yall like it at least a bit

Chapter 20

“Okay,” Isak nodded, carefully getting Faina in her jammies after a bath, first getting her diaper on. He was holding her upright with one hand and now trying to get her shirt on with the other. “Okay, baby. This is going to be fun for you, right? You’re going to have a great time.”

She blinked at him with a little pouty face, trying to sit down despite the fact that he was holding her up. 

“Is, do you have the keys?” Even called from the other room. Faina perked up at the sound of his voice, letting out a shrill little laugh, which made Isak smile. 

As he was sitting her down to put on her socks, he called back, “Nei, there in the kitchen.”

Faina reached out and grabbed at his hair, which was spilling into his eyes- he needed to get it cut. “Baby,” he laughed, shaking her off. She started kicking, which was quite inconvenient as he was literally trying to put on her socks. 

Once he was finally done dressing her, he picked her up, taking a deep breath at the way she clung around his neck, babbling excitedly. He could do this, right?

“Alright,” he heard Even say as the older boy came into the nursery. Isak turned and- wow. Even looked good. Like, really good. 

Like, those-pants-make-you-look-so-hot-I-wish-they-were-on-the-floor type good. 

As unaware of his perfection as always, Even beamed up at Isak. “Ready to go?”

And, oh right, they were going out. For the night. Without Faina. 

The thing is, he’d been without her in the ten months since she’d been born, of course, but she’d always been with Even or his mom or Even’s parents. They’d never left her with a friend. 

At least it was Eskild, who, despite being a party god and a boozy one-night-stand on the weekends, was probably the most mature and experienced of their friends. God, if Magnus had been the one babysitting… let’s just say Isak loved Maggie, but he would rather never go out alone with Even again than leave her in his care at this young age. 

Jonas and Eva would’ve been fine, but they were busy, and Sana said Yousef spent enough time telling her how adorable kids were and that she didn’t need him ranting about their perfect baby for the next week. 

Isak took a deep breath, holding her tight to him. “Mmhmm,” he hummed quietly, turning to walk out the door. 

 

The wait for Eskild to arrive, Isak held her, trying to stop his heart from pounding out of his chest. This was fine. He was physically able to be without their baby for, what, six hours? Not that he’d ever tried to be without her for six hours before, but of course he could if he wanted to. 

Faina was babbling happily in his ear as he paced around, occasionally calling his name or pointing to something. Even was carrying his half of the conversation with her, constantly praising and cooing over her every incomprehensible word from where he sat at the kitchen table, but Isak just kept holding her, arms wrapped securely around her tiny little body as he tried to keep his heartbeat steady. Breathe, he could hear Even’s voice in his head. In and out, baby. 

Suddenly, they heard the bell buzz. “Everything’s going to be okay, angel,” Even murmured in his ear as he stood to answer the door. Isak probably should’ve followed but he just needed another minute with her.

“Halla!” Isak could hear Eskild’s excited greeting as soon as Even opened the door. He could almost hear the big grin on his face. Immediately, Faina squealed and wiggled around, trying to get to him, but Isak held her tight, not ready to let go yet. 

“Come in, come in!” Even said. 

He heard Eskild make his way inside. “Do you want something to drink?” Even asked, walking to their kitchen. Isak heard Eskild say something in reply, but instead of going to greet him he sat Faina down on one of the couches, holding her upright and kneeling in front of her. 

“Okay, baby girl,” Isak said, nodding as he watched her wiggle around. “Pappa and I are going to leave soon. Be good for Eskild, okay?” 

Faina giggled. “We’re going to be home later, sweet girl, okay? We’ll see you soon.”

“Isak!” he heard, and looked over his shoulder. Eskild was in the doorway, smiling. “Here you are!”

“Here I am,” Isak replied, gathering up Faina in his arms. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Eskild nodded. “I love spending time with her. I’m excited to hang out tonight.”

“I’m sure she’s excited, too,” Isak nodded. 

“Uhm, of course she is,” Eskild said. “She’s going to get a total makeover tonight!”

Isak knew he was joking. He knew this. And yet he still couldn’t stop himself from sending a death glare Eskild’s way. 

Faina whined, wrapping her arms around Isak’s neck, because apparently he hadn’t been giving her enough attention. It was hard to miss the fondness that spread over Eskild’s face at this. 

“I’m right here, baby,” he whispered, bouncing her. And, then, to Eskild, “I should…” he gestured towards the kitchen, where Even apparently waiting. 

“Yeah, of course,” he said, stepping back. Isak nodded, a bit awkward, and then walked down the hall. Eskild followed. 

“There he is! We were just wondering where you went!” Even said as he walked in. “Eskild found you?”

Isak managed a smile. “Eskild found me.” He cleared his throat, turning to the older boy. “So you know the plan right? She needs to be in bed by seven thirty. She’ll only fall asleep if you read to her first, and she needs to be fed once we leave. She has tons of toys and stuff to play with in her room, and if you just hang out with her she’ll be fine. If she starts crying after you’ve fed her, just check her diaper, and if it’s clean then just hold her until she calms down. If she’s not calming down, call me, okay? And there’s instructions for how to feed her and put her down in the kitchen, but if you have any questions you can call for that, too. Okay?”

“Calm down, baby Jesus,” Eskild rolled his eyes. “Everything’s going to be fine. Babies loves me.”

“But, just…” Isak swallowed. “Just promise you’ll call if she needs us.”

Eskild softened. “Of course I will. But, serr. Everything is going to be okay. I can handle her for a few hours. We’re going to have a good time.”

“Okay,” Isak nodded. And then he held her out from him slightly. “See you later, baby. We’ll be home at midnight, and tomorrow we’ll all eat breakfast together, okay? Just like always. I love you so much, baby girl.”

She smiled, squealing when he pulled her close again and hugged her, taking a deep breath, nose buried in her little neck. She hugged back, something she loved doing, and babbled contently. “Love you so much,” Isak whispered, kissing the side of her tiny head before passing her reluctantly to Even. 

“Alright, angel, we’ll see you soon, okay?” the blue eyed boy smiled, kissing her all over and making her laugh hysterically in that high-pitched baby way. “Don’t get into too much trouble with grampa Eskild.”

At long last, Even handed her over to her babysitter, and Isak took a deep breath. “Bye, baby girl,” he said, waving as he and Even moved to head out. She smiled wildly, waving back with her whole arm and opening and closing her little hand. 

Okay. Okay. Isak could do this. Isak could walk out of their apartment with Even’s hand in his and their baby girl still in the apartment with Eskild. In Eskild’s arms, actually. With Eskild holding her and putting her to bed later. And she’d be absolutely fine, and she definitely wouldn’t forget that Isak even existed by the end of the night. 

Even tucked one arm around his waist and drew him in, kissing his cheek. “Let’s go, baby,” he said, walking Isak towards the foyer. 

And Isak was okay. This was fine. This was-

“Hey, Isak? Is ten months too young for glitter eyeshadow?” 

This was fucking great. 

 

“Isn’t this nice, angel?” Even hummed as they drove, one hand on Isak’s knee. “I’ve missed having you to myself.”

“Yeah!” Isak nodded enthusiastically. He really, really wanted to be as excited for alone time with Even as Even was for alone time with him, and he was, he loved being alone with Even more than 99.99% of things in this world, especially when they were in their room and Faina was asleep or when they went for a lunch date while Liv chilled with Faina or something. Not when they went out from 18 to 24- since when did they even stay up until midnight, anyway?- and left Faina in the care of Eskild. 

“Angel?”

“Hmm?”

“You know Eskild is a capable adult, right?” Even shot him a grin and Isak pouted, crossing his arms. 

“I know,” he grumbled, leaning his head on the car window. 

“And you know he literally took you in at the lowest point of your life and basically raised you during your teenage years?”

“I’m aware of my relationship with Eskild, yes.”

“And so you know he can capably take care of a baby for six hours.”

Isak narrowed his eyes, side eyeing Even. “You’re being mean.”

“I’m not, my love,” Even laughed. “I just want you to have a good time tonight! We barely get alone time out of the house and I don’t want you to spend our special night worrying.”

At this, Isak softened, putting his hand over Even’s. “I know. I’ll try not to stress, I just… I get so anxious when I can’t, like, make sure she’s fine, you know?”

“I know. I do, too. But let’s try to focus on us tonight, okay my sweet boy?”

“Yeah,” Isak took a deep breath. Ever since having those two anxiety attacks while he was pregnant, Isak had found focusing on what was good for Faina to be a way to help him calm down. And this would probably even be good for Faina, right? She should spend time with different people. 

 

They got to the resturant relatively quickly, Even parking smoothly and then hopping out. Isak got out, too, walking over to Even and taking one of his hands. “You look hot,” he mumbled, snuggling closer to Even, who chuckled and kissed the side of his head. 

“Such a gentleman.”

“I can’t help that I have a sexy boyfriend.”

Even did look hot. He looked really fucking good in his suit. So good that Isak was still partially wondering why they were doing the dinner thing when they could just be doing the Even-fucking-his-brains-out thing. But he knew his boyfriend was a romantic and that dinner dates were sometimes more his style than staying home and fucking all the goddamn time.

“No, I suppose you can’t,” Even laughed. He pulled Isak closer, peppering kisses along the side of his face. “You look hot, too. Even when you’re worrying yourself sick.” 

“Hey,” Isak protested, squirming away from Even’s insistent kissing, “I am not worrying myself sick. I am worrying myself- a normal amount that should be endearing to you.”

“Oh, baby, it is,” Even chuckled. 

 

They were halfway through the dinner and Even was a bit tipsy. He’d always been a lightweight, which was amusing to Isak considering he was so tall and seemed so intimidating on first glance, but you could get him giggling after, like, two glasses of wine. 

Isak, on the other hand, was not a lightweight, and couldn’t really drink when he was nervous, anyway. This was something he’d learned long after the years of forcing himself to get near-blackout-drunk in order to hook up with some girl in a bathroom at a party- he’d thought feeling incrediably sick after half a can of beer was totally normal and had nothing to do with the crippling anxiety he felt, like, 90% of the time. 

Not that he was experiencing any crippling anxiety right now. Just nerves. Which were eased a bit by Even’s bubbliness across the table. 

“You know,” his boy was saying now, “I used to think that I absolutely could not have found a better person to spend my life with.”

“And now?” Isak rose his eyebrows. 

“Now I know, angel!” Even laughed, reaching across the table and taking his hand. 

Isak licked his lips, smiling. “Wine makes you romantic.”

“I’m always romantic, sweetheart.”

“That’s true.”

Even tilted his head. “Are you having a good time?”

“I am,” Isak nodded, squeezing Even’s hand. 

“That’s good. I love when you’re having a good time.” Even was beaming like Isak had said this was the best day of his life. 

“I’m always having a good time with you,” the green eyed boy replied, because maybe he was secretly a bit of a romantic, too. 

 

By the time they’d finished eating- mostly off of each other’s plates, but who cared?- Isak was really, really ready to get Even out of those goddamn pants and into something else. 

Of course Even, on the other hand, was ready to stop and have a conversation with every stranger they interacted with. Right now he was in the middle of the long conversation with the waiter, who probably had to get back to work, about some movie they’d both seen recently. It wasn’t his fault he was so charming and personable, Isak knew, but damn, he had never wished harder that Even was as awkward and grumpy as he was. 

“Ev,” he finally cut in after the talk had gone mostly one sided for at least five minutes and the waiter was nervously glancing around, “We should go. It’s getting late and I’m sure Nils has work to do.” 

“Oh! Of course, sorry. It was really nice talking to you,” Even shot him a megawatt grin. 

“You too, sir,” the waiter said, leaving them their bill and scurrying off. Even wiggled his eyebrows. 

“You hear that? I’m ‘sir’ now. I must be getting old.”

“He was your age,” Isak laughed. “You’re definitely not old yet, don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worrying! I can’t wait to be a silver fox,” Even said back, smiling through his laugh. 

Isak stared at him, unimpressed. “No way are you being a silver fox.”

“What? You’re going to stop be from taking my natural, sexy old man form?” Even laughed. 

“It’s bad enough I have to deal with teenage girls pining after you 24/7, I’m not dealing with horny old ladies trying to get in your pants when we’re retired!” Isak sputtered, trying not to grin back. 

“Aw, baby, don’t worry. You don’t have any competition. Even when I’m a silver fox, I’ll only have eyes for you,” Even said mushily. 

“Hm. You better. And don’t expect me to become a silver fox, too, because I’m letting myself go after, like, thirty,” Isak replied seriously, raising his eyebrows and shrugging as he started gathering up his things. 

“Thirty?” Even laughed. 

“Ja. Beer gut, stubble, full package. I’ll even start balding on purpose, just to complete the look.”

By this point, they were both standing, and Even came up behind him to wrap both arms around Isak’s slim waist. “No you won’t. But, even if you did, I would still find you incrediably sexy.”

“Even without my ‘prince hair’?” Isak joked, wiggling out Even’s arms as he referenced what the older boy had once drunkenly called his hair. 

“Even without your prince hair. But I don’t think you’re going to let yourself go at thirty. I think you’ll end up being a silver fox, too, whether or not you want to, and then I’ll be the one being jealous of horny old ladies.”

“See, now that’s just silly,” Isak said as they headed out, “teenage girls never flirt with me, first of all, so why do you think old ladies would? And secondly, you would never have to worry about me and some old lady. You would have to look out for all the other silver foxes.”

Suddenly, Even stopped, even though they were in the middle of the parking lot. “You think teenage girls don’t flirt with you, angel?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. 

“Uhm,” Isak swallowed, not prepared for this. 

“Because they do. All the fucking time. Guys, too. Yesterday, when we went shopping and you went off to look for coffee and I took Faina, that guy who asked you for directions to the milk? What did you think was happening?” Even asked, squeezing Isak’s hand. 

“Um… he needed help finding the milk?” Isak said, blinking. 

“I think he was looking for something else, actually,” Even nodded, pulling him a little closer. He smirked. “And you know what? That made me want to turn you around and fuck you right there, just to show him that he’ll never have you.”

Isak swallowed again. Damn, Even went from playful banter to talking about fucking him against a dairy case real quick. “I, um…” he trailed. “Is this your way of saying you wanna hook up?”

“Hook up?” Even repeated, laughing, suddenly all kicks and giggles again. “Baby, we have a daughter. We’ve lived together for three years. I don’t think it’s still called hooking up.” He swung Isak’s hand back and forth, walking them towards the car. 

“Fine, then, I guess we won’t hook up,” Isak grumbled, and suddenly he was being pressed against the car door and Even was smirking down at him, both hands cupping his face. 

“Yes,” the blue eyed boy nodded, “we will.” 

“Where are we even going to go? We have,” he checked his phone, “three and a half more hours. Just tell me the big surprise already.”

“You’ll see,” Even pecked him before backing off and hopping in the passenger's side. 

Isak stood, stunned for a beat, before adjusting his collar with a huff and getting into the car. “Are you drunk?”

“Do I seem drunk?” Even laughed, as Isak started the car. 

“I don’t know,” Isak shrugged, “you’re talking about fucking all the time and being all handsy with me.”

“I’m excited to get a night alone with you, angel. Plus, I had two glasses of wine.”

“Hm,” Isak huffed, but he knew Even being serious. “Well, this surprise better be good.”

“It will be, don’t worry.”

The ride was relatively quiet, besides Even’s humming. Isak didn't like driving- he was still fucking scared of traffic- but it was a pretty calm night so this was okay. Even directed him here and there, until they eventually pulled up to a nice hotel. “This is the surprise?” Isak asked, shooting Even a look. 

“Ta-da!” the older boy said excitedly. 

“Can we even afford a hotel room right now?”

“Baby, stop stressing,” Even laughed, hopping out of the car. 

“I’m not stressing, I’m just wondering," Isak said as he started to get out, too, but Even shooed him.

"I've got to get things ready. And don’t worry, my uncle works here, I got us in on the cheap.”

“Ew, you asked your uncle for a fuck favor?” Isak snorted. 

Laughing, Even started to walk off. “Yep. Now stay here, I'll be back in a second.”

Isak rolled his eyes, but really he was a bit excited. 

But waiting was... not good for his anxious mind. So he took out his phone. Not because he wanted to see if Eskild had texted, just because he was bored. And if Eskild had happened to message him, great. 

Except Eskild hadn’t. Which was also great, because that meant everything was fine, right?

There was no need to text and ask how things were going. 

But, if Even wanted to know, he should have an answer, right?

 

Isak: Halla Eskild, everything’s okay?

Eskild: yes baby jesus, everything’s fine

Isak: she’s asleep?

Eskild: she’s asleep

Isak: any problems putting her down?

Eskild: not after all the booze

Isak: …

Eskild: it was fine, Isak. Stop worrying so much. You’re supposed to be having fun tonight!

Isak: I am having fun!

Isak: We’re going off somewhere special to fuck right now!

Isak: Fun fun fun!

Eskild: Yay yay yay!

Eskild: have an awesome time fucking

Eskild: I’ll be in your apartment watching rupaul 

Isak: okay

Isak: did she, like, ask for us at all?

Eskild: yeah a little

Eskild: but she seemed fine

Eskild: I just read her a few books and she fell asleep

Eskild: by the way, why didn’t you tell me how boring kids books are?

Eskild: I nearly fell asleep too

Isak: haha, thank you guru

Eskild: anytime<3 now have fun with your man and stop stressing please! 

Isak: I’ll try<3

 

Suddenly, his door swung open. “Baby?”

Isak looked up at Even. “Hm?”

“You’re not texting Eskild and freaking out, are you?”

“Huh?” Isak huffed. “Nei?”

Even shot him a disbelieving look. 

“Okay, I was texting Eskild, but I wasn’t freaking out.”

Even nodded and for a few seconds everything was quiet. “So…” he trailed after a beat, and Isak rolled his eyes. 

“She’s asleep.”

Beaming, Even reached down and took his hand. “Good.”

 

The first time they got a hotel after Even’s episode, Isak hadn’t been able to stop the feeling of panic from swallowing him alive. But now, after so many years together, and so many hotels together, it was easier to take a deep breath and separate that isolated incident from this one.

And, now… now it was hard to feel anything but happiness, because Even had him pressed against the bed, arched over him like the fucking sex god that he was, and Isak was fumbling with his tie- why had he worn a fucking tie in the first place? Who was he trying to impress?

“Mm, baby, been waiting all night for this,” Even said quietly, sucking at his neck. “You looked so good in your suit, wanted to get it off you.”

“Same here,” Isak laughed, laugh stuttering out as Even bit him gently. “I mean- fuck, you’re so hot.”

Even moved up again, kissing Isak full on the mouth. As he did this, he started to unbutton the smaller boy’s pants. “Get rid of these, baby,” he said quietly, and Isak kicked the pants off as quickly as he could. Then he started fumbling with the buttons of Even’s shirt. 

“Mm,” he whined when he couldn’t get it off quickly enough, so Even popped the last three buttons getting rid of it for him, which made Isak snort. 

“You’re going to regret that later,” he said in between kisses. 

He felt Even smirk against him. “Shut up.”

“Just saying.” Isak gasped lightly as Even pulled back and started unbuttoning his shirt, swatting at his fingers and doing it himself so that it would go more quickly. 

Finally, finally, they were both completely naked, which felt long overdue and fucking electric. “What do you want tonight, baby?”

“Whatever,” Isak said, smiling breathlessly. “You choose.”

“Hmm,” Even hummed, smirking. He nosed at Isak’s jaw. “Do you want to suck me off, angel?” 

“Please,” Isak whimpered back.

“Alright,” Even shrugged, sitting up in front of him. Isak scrambled to flip them around, hurriedly kissing down Even’s chest. They made eye contact just before Isak licked at his hard cock. 

 

The stars were bright that night. “Do you think the same stars shine over every universe?” Even whispered into Isak’s hair as they layed there. 

“That’s romantic,” Isak replied, slotting their legs together. “But I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Well, if everything that can happen is happening, then there’s gotta be some universe where… where there are no stars, or where the stars burn purple or something, you know?” Isak looked up at him. 

“You’re brain is so hot,” Even whispered, and Isak flushed, leaning his head for a kiss. 

“Yours, too,” he whispered back, and Even hummed. And maybe Even even believed him. 

 

“Halla!” Eskild said suggestively as they walked in, pausing his drag queen show. He wiggled his eyebrows. “How was date night?”

“Awesome,” Isak replied, stretching as Even took off his jacket and shoes. His stupid ripped shirt gave everything away, so Isak didn’t really bother trying to be modest. 

“Mmhmm,” Eskild nodded. “Well, baby girl’s asleep. She’s really so much fun, you guys. It’s like having a roommate who’s adorable and happy all the time.”

“I wouldn’t say she’s happy all the time,” Isak mumbled. “You’re lucky you didn’t have to deal with a fit. I don’t think you would’ve had such a good time then.”

“Well, she had a great time with me. And I had a great time with her, and you two had a great time with each other’s dicks, so it was all around a good night, right?”

Isak had to put effort into not dying on the spot. Even just laughed.


	21. Twenty-one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hei hei hei!!! I'm going away tomorrow and thursday, but I should post the last chap of this part (!!) on Friday!! It has seriously been such a journey writing this, especially with all the OVERWHELMING support!! I have never ever ever gotten this much support for a fic and it means so so so much! Like, every single comment makes my heart smile<33 so THANK EVERY SINGLE reader and commenter so much!! It seriously means the world<3 and I hope you all stick with me for part 2, because I'm so excited for writing it!!! The epilogue to this will be up on Friday and then we're off to baby number 2!!!
> 
> <333 DA

Chapter 21

“Baby,” Even pulled Isak tighter to him from around the waist, “it’s early.”

“But we have to start getting ready,” Isak argued, although his voice was sleepy and didn’t exactly convince Even that he wanted to get up. 

It was quite early, with the sun filtering in a light grey color, filling the room with the feeling that the rest of the world was still sleeping. 

“Stay with me. She’s not even awake yet,” Even mumbled into Isak’s shoulder blades. 

Instead of responding, Isak wiggled around and tucked his head under Even’s chin. The older boy gave him a sleepy kiss on the head. “Are you nervous?” Isak whispered into his chest. 

“For what?”

“I don’t know, for her growing up so fast?” 

He could feel Even wake up a little more. “I guess. But the older she gets, the more sides of her we’ll get to meet.”

“And the less we’ll be able to protect her.”

“She’s only a year old, angel,” Even said quietly, pulling back and looking down at Isak. “I know it’s scary, but we’ve still got time. Minute by minute, yeah?”

The smallest smile tugged at Isak’s mouth. “Minute by minute.” He tilted his chin up, receiving a warm kiss, and they both quickly fell back asleep. 

 

The next time they woke up, it was to the sound of the baby monitor.

“Mm, ready to say good morning to the birthday girl?” Even hummed lowly, smile evident in his voice. 

“Yeah,” Isak replied, stretching and starting to stand, but suddenly he was being tugged back into bed and kissed loudly on the mouth. When Even pulled away, he was smiling this wide, sleepy, goofy smile. 

“Good morning to you, too, baby boy.”

And damn, he still knew how to make Isak blush. 

 

“Good morning, sweet girl!” Even said as they opened the nursery door. Faina was standing up in her crib, and she squealed immediately upon seeing him. 

“Pappa!”

“Good morning,” Even laughed again, watching as her gaze shifted to Isak as he came in, too. Her face went from confused to overjoyed in one second and she stomped her tiny feet. 

“Dada!” she laughed, and yeah her laugh still sounded a little cackle-esque, but it was fucking adorable and both Isak and Even would fight anyone who disagreed. 

“Good morning, angel,” Isak laughed back, leaning against the bookshelf as Even picked her up out of her crib, squeezing her tight and kissing all over her face. Faina squealed and tried to wiggle away from him. Usually, only one of them came in to get her in the morning, so this was clearly an exciting surprise. 

“Come here, baby,” Isak said, taking her from Even and holding her up in the air. “Happy birthday my love!” he said as he wooshed her up and down a bit. 

“Oh, we’re going to have so much fun today with farmor and farfar and nonna-”

“Nonna?” Faina squeaked excitedly as Even took her again. 

“Ja, baby, and auntie Eva and uncle Jonas and grampa Eskild and everyone who loves you is going to be there, and there’s going to be cake and presents all for you!” 

“Down? Down?” Faina asked, trying to wiggle out of Even’s arms. He put her down and she immediately sat down and grabbed her stuffed animal giraffe, sticking it in her mouth. 

“You have no idea what a special day this is, angel,” Isak said, sitting across from her and taking the giraffe, grabbing one of her teething rings instead. “You’re a year old! This is the day you were born, baby girl!”

Even came up and sat behind Isak, pulling the younger boy into the v of his legs. “You’re getting so big,” he said, reaching out and squeezing one of Faina’s little feet. She squeaked and pulled back her leg before something caught her attention and she precariously stood herself up and took a few steps passed the boys, eventually falling back onto her hands and knees and crawling across the room. 

“Where are you going, motorboat?” Even asked, spinning around grabbing her little waist, picking her up and placing her gently in Isak’s lap. He looked back to where she’d been crawling and concluded it was probably towards her little blue bear, so he grabbed it and put it in her hands. 

“First thing we’re gonna do today is take a bath, baby,” Isak said, and he and Even both gasped excitedly. God, they were dorks. 

“Then we’re gonna get you dressed, and then we’re gonna have a party! We’re gonna play all day today.”

At the word “play” Faina lost interest in her bear, instead looking up at Isak with that adorable little smile on her face. 

“Are you ready for your bath, baby?” Even asked, reaching around and poking her chubby little belly. Faina giggled, folding away from him, and Isak securely wrapped his arms around her and stood up. 

“Ugh,” he fake-groaned, “you’re getting so big, baby girl!”

“Soon you’re going to be taller than us!” Even joked, and Isak shot him a glare, although his obvious smile lessened the intensity of it.

“Don’t say that,” he warned playfully. Laughing, Even kissed his cheek and then walked on ahead to start the bath. 

 

Later, when Faina was down for her nap and the whole apartment was set up for the party, the boys were chilling on the couch, Isak tucked into Even’s side. 

“Baby?”

“Hm?”

Even watched as Isak squinted at his phone, not really paying attention. “Is.”

“Yes?” Isak looked at him, eyebrows raised. 

Even smiled, leaning down to kiss him. “I love you,” he mumbled against Isak’s lips. 

When he pulled back, Isak’s cheeks were pink and he was smiling. “What was that for?”

“Just love you,” Even replied, nuzzling their noses together. 

“Well, I love you too,” Isak said, reaching up and brushing his hand over Even’s cheeks before kissing him again. Even gently cupped his face, smiling when Isak shifted slightly to push him down. 

“What are you doing?” he laughed when the smaller boy started sucking on his jaw. 

“You started it,” Isak mumbled back. 

“By telling you I love you?” 

“Yep,” Isak said, marking the word with a kiss to Even’s collarbone. “Now lay down.”

“On the couch? Seriously, love?”

“I’ve always wanted to ride you on this couch,” Isak said almost thoughtfully as he took off Even’s shirt. 

“Fuck, Isak” Even laughed, letting his head fall back into the cushion. “Alright.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, anything you want, angel.”

“Do you want it?”

Even looked down at Isak, who’d stopped moving and was staring at him. He reached down and brushed back some of his golden curls. “Yes, baby. I want it.”

Isak shimmied up to kiss him properly. “Okay,” he whispered. 

 

“Fuck, baby, you’ve gotta be quiet,” Even panted. By this point, they’d flipped over and Isak was being fucking loud, which was an issue considering they had a sleeping baby a room over. 

“Uh- uh, fuck fuck fuck, Even,” Isak was moaning now, voice breathy as he held onto Even’s shoulders. 

“Shh, shh, angel,” Even tried to quiet him, but Isak didn’t seem to hear. And so he did the best thing that he could; he put one hand over Isak’s mouth. 

At this, Isak’s eyes snapped open. “Okay?” Even asked, and Isak nodded wildly into his hand. It was quieter this way, yeah, but it was also way hotter. 

“Mmm,” he was moaning into Even’s palm now, trying not to elbow the older boy in the face as he grabbed the back of the couch and pulled himself a little higher. 

“That’s so good, my love, so good,” Even said into his ear, bending down to kiss alone Isak’s neck. 

Isak’s head suddenly snapped back into the pillow as his hips shot up. “Are you close?” Even whispered, getting an enthusiastic nod in answer. 

Humming low in the back of his throat, Even hovered directly over him, eyes intense as they searched Isak’s. “Come on, baby,” he whispered after a few seconds, “let go.” He ghosted his lips over Isak’s forehead as he felt the younger boy release between them. “So perfect, angel.”

Isak was now a bit limp underneath him, taking deep breaths as Even pulled in and out of his slim body. It wasn’t long before he came, too, groaning as he buried himself balls deep in Isak and relishing in the little whimpers that Isak was making into his sweaty hand. 

They stayed like that for a bit, until there was a knock at the door, which Even seemed to miss. 

“Mm!” Isak squeaked, eyes popping open, and suddenly he was hitting Even’s chest in a weak attempt to get the bigger boy off of him. Even peeled his hand away, pulling Isak closer by the waist with a hum. “Ev!” Isak protested, struggling out of his grip. 

“Baby,” Even said tiredly, kissing his neck as he tried to relax again. 

“Even, somebody’s here!” Isak hissed. “What time is?” He did an olympic gymnast move and reached over Even’s broad back to grab his phone off the coffee table. “Fuck, it’s two. Eva and Jonas are here to help set up.”

“We already set up,” Even yawned, nuzzling closer to Isak. “Tell them to come back later.”

“Even,” Isak groaned, removing his arm as if it were a seatbelt and climbing over him. “Get dressed and splash some water on your face! And clean up the couch!”

“Ughh,” Even protested, throwing his now-empty arm over his eyes dramatically.

“I’m the one with come in my asshole!” Isak shouted from the bathroom. “You stop complaining.”

At this, Even chuckled, and then, with one last groan, he sat up and grabbed his pants. “We’ll be there in a minute,” he called to the door. 

 

“Hei!” Isak swung the door open about five minutes later to an unimpressed looking Jonas and Eva. Even was behind him, leaning against the doorframe with that smile of his. 

“Halla,” Jonas said with eyebrows raised and he glanced back and forth between the two of them. 

Eva was grinning like an idiot. “You two started celebrating a little early,” she said, sticking her tongue between her teeth, and Isak’s whole body flushed pink. 

 

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Even said as he lifted Faina out of her crib. She blinked sleepily, annoyed at having been woken, but it was her party and it was starting soon, so he figured he should get her dressed. She clung around his neck, whining when he went to put her down. “You gotta get dressed, angel, it’s your birthday!”

Faina was not having it. She started crying as soon as Even placed her on the floor, face red and hair fuzzy and disheveled. “Nooo!” she wailed as Even tried to start taking off her jammies. 

Isak popped his head in at this. “Jonas is answering the door,” he told Even. Then he frowned. “Are you being fussy for pappa?” he asked. 

She flinched at the sound, crying louder and sitting down. 

“Oh, come on sweet girl,” Isak said tilting his head and walking over to her. He leaned down to pick her up but she resisted aggressively, yanking her arms back down to her sides. “Faina,” he sighed frustratedly. 

“Okay, baby, you have two choices,” Even said as he pulled out some of her clothes. At this, her wailing died down slightly and she sniffed, looking at him with interest. “You can wear this,” Even held out her little purple dress and a pair of white leggings, “or you can wear this,” he held out her little green overalls. 

Hiccuping, she stared at him. He held out both options until she eventually grabbed at the overalls. “Alright, angel,” Even stood her up again. Isak carefully took off her tiny shirt and wiped at her wet little cheeks, kissing one softly. 

She continued to sniffle until she was fully dressed in her green corduroy overalls with the yellow flowers over the front pocket over a white tshirt. They even put her favorite little yellow headband in her blonde curls, which made her very happy. They didn’t bother with socks because both boys knew that would end in another fit- that child had quite the aversion to socks- and then Isak lifted her up and kissed her cheek again. “Oh, you look so beautiful, baby girl!”

She giggled, reaching up and taking both of Isak’s cheeks between his hands before placing a big, open-mouth kiss on one of them, a little too close to his eye for comfort. This left a huge ring of spit on Isak’s face, along with a huge smile. “You’re so good, angel,” he laughed, discreetly wiping his face off on Even’s shoulder when the older boy came over to kiss her on the crown of her head. 

“Are you ready for your party?” he asked, lifting her from Isak’s arms with a beaming smile. Faina decided this would be the appropriate time to try a kiss on his cheek, too, instead she kind of missed and hit his chin/corner of the mouth area. 

“I guess we taught her kisses,” Isak said, coming up behind her and playing with her soft hair. 

“Birthday kisses are a good thing,” Even laughed in approval, wiping his face and kissing her on the forehead in return. “What a sweet girl!”

Faina laughed, holding around his neck and bouncing herself slightly. 

“Alright,” Isak said, adjusting his collar. “Let’s go.”

He swung open the door to a litany of faces, all of which turned and cheered at the sight of Faina. 

“Look, everybody’s here for you, sweetie!” Even said excitedly, walking out with her proudly in his arms. She kicked, smiling wide and hiding her face in his neck. “Oh oh, don’t get shy now,” Even laughed, moving to put her down, but she tightened her grip on him so he stayed holding her instead. 

“Happy birthday, baby!” Eva was saying as she walked over. She came up to Even and put one hand on her back, making her spin around to look at whoever was touching her. When she saw it was Eva, she lit up, squeaked, and stuck her arms out. Eva put down her glass of wine with an excited sound and took her from Even. “You’re such a big girl!” she said, leaning their foreheads together. 

With Faina babbling excitedly in Eva’s arms, Even pulled Isak close from around the waist and kissed the back of his neck. 

“Happy one-year-of-being-parents, baby,” he mumbled into the nape of Isak’s hair, and he could feel the younger boy’s giggle. 

“Happy one-year-of-being-parents, Evy.”

 

The party was a hit, of course. Faina was a social butterfly, being passed around by everyone who loved her. And, boy, did she love them. Eva was, as predicted at the baby shower, her very favorite of their friends, so the redheaded girl held her most of the time, bouncing her on one hip and kissing her little head sometimes. During one such occurrence, Faina decided to return to favor, and before Isak, who was watching with amused horror, could intervene, she’d placed one of her slobbery kisses right on Eva’s nose and cheek area. This made a surprised, delighted laugh come out of Eva. 

“Does she kiss now?”

“Since earlier today, it’s apparently her favorite thing to do,” Isak laughed back. 

Later, Isak saw her sitting in Magnus lap on the couch as he, Mahdi and Jonas showered her with attention. Jonas was playing one of Even’s guitars while Mahdi and Magnus sang a corny american love song, Magnus holding up her little arms and waving them slowly back and forth. 

Eventually, she was passed off to the girls, who had just the best time playing with her. Vilde was delighted by her outfit- “Oh my god, she looks so adorable!”- and she and Sana spent a long time playing peek-a-boo with her. 

While this was happening, Isak was sitting on the couch with his mom. “She reminds me so much of you when you were that age,” she said, looking at Faina from across the room as she squealed and clapped while bouncing on Vilde’s knee and watching Sana disappear and reappear behind her hands. 

“Really?” Isak asked, a bit surprised. 

“Oh yeah. When you were little, you were such a ball of sunshine and energy.”

“When I was a baby-baby?” Isak pressed, narrowing his eyes. He could only ever remember being very reserved, sensitive, nervous and a bit distanced as a child. He was never outgoing and always saw danger everywhere, and so he usually opted to stay on the defensive: don’t speak unless spoken to, don’t be heard and barely be seen, and, especially, do not give anyone a reason to become upset with you. 

“No, even until you were four and five. You were so outgoing and excitable.”

Isak watched his mom watching his daughter. He had never seen much of himself in Faina besides her curls. Her bubbliness, her outgoingness, her easy-to-please-ness, even her eyes, all of that was Even. Sometimes, when she got in a mood or was pouting over something, he could recognize himself in there, but otherwise she was pure Even, right down to the megawatt smile. 

But if his mom was being accurate… maybe he was once like that, too, before everything started falling apart. And the thought that his beautiful baby girl, his ray of sunshine, could ever end up as cold and confused and emotionally repressed and empty and isolated and just- just as fake as he had become and possibly would’ve remained if it weren’t for Even… that terrified him. Like, so much that he wrapped up the conversation with his mom as quickly and politely as possible and then walked over to where Noora and Chris were now playing with Faina and stole her out of Noora’s arms- “Ooh, daddy misses you.”

“Hei, sweet girl,” he breathed into her hair as she immediately latched onto him, leaning her head on his shoulder. “My sweet love.”

He felt Even’s hand on the small of his back. “Everything alright?” 

“Everything’s perfect,” Isak replied, turning to kiss him and then passing Faina over. “She’s perfect.”

Even took her willingly. “She really is,” he said, smiling down at her. 

 

Later, after they pried Faina out the balloon boy’s game of “Where’s my (insert body part)” that seemed to fascinate them more than her, the boys got her situated in her highchair and called everyone in the kitchen. Isak disappeared the light up the candles and Even lowered the lights as he carried it in. Everyone started singing the birthday song, over Faina’s obviously delighted babbling and giggling. Once that was done they all cheered and Isak put the cake an appropriate distance away from her. 

“Alright, baby, can you blow the candles out?” Even asked, taking a big example breath and blowing out. Seeing this, Faina tried to imitate him, and together (let’s be real, it was all Even) they blew out all the candles. 

“Good job!” everyone cheered, and then Isak was cutting up the cake. 

Soon, most people had a slice on a little paper plate, and Even stayed sitting at the kitchen table, feeding Faina tiny bites of her cake with the little plastic fork. She could now successfully make the “nam” sound and made it every time she took a bite. 

“Halla,” he heard, and then his mom was sitting behind him and kissing the side of his head. “Does the birthday girl like her cake?”

Judging by the blue frosting smeared all over her cheeks, she did. “I think so,” Even laughed. 

“I’m so proud of you, baby,” Liv said, and Even turned to her and smiled. 

“Thank you, mama.”

“She really is a beautiful, sweet soul. Just like you,” Liv added, smiling warmly at him. “You’re so good, angel.”

Even squeezed her hand. “I had to get it from somewhere,” he said. 

 

By evening, Faina was absolutely wiped out. Even was holding her in the nursery, rocking her as she dozed off in his arms, as Isak cleaned up around the apartment. “You’re getting so big, baby,” he whispered. “One day, your birthday parties are going to be full of your little friends from school. And one day your birthday parties will just be sleepovers where you all gossip about your crushes. But that’s a long time from now, right?”

“Pappa,” Faina said quietly, tightening her grip around his neck. 

“My love,” Even replied, kissing the side of her head. Things were quiet for a while. “One day your going to have a little brother or sister, too,” he whispered after a beat. He watched Isak through the open door as he gathered up paper cups. “You’re going to be an amazing sister.”

Faina was already asleep.


	22. Twenty-two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AHHH LAST CHAP<333 love you all sm<333

Chapter 22

“Pappa!” Faina was shrieking. Isak watched from his chair as Even lifted her high in the air and then swooped her back down into the water, much to her excitement. She screamed when the cold first touched her feet and then dissolved into laughter as Even dipped her lower, a small wave rolling over them. She was in her floaties and he was in his trunks and they looked picture-perfect with the sun shining behind them and the blue water lapping at their legs. 

Isak hummed, looking back at his book and trying to pay attention to what he was reading, but it was so warm out and Faina had had a temper tantrum at bedtime last night, so he was tired. After attempting a few futile sentences, the blond boy closed his eyes and decided that taking a short rest wouldn’t hurt anyone. 

And he was actually dozing off, except suddenly there was a cold, wet three-year-old climbing on top of him and wrapping both arms around his neck. “Dada?”

“Hi, baby,” Isak yawned back. She was laying on top of him and now pulled back to look him in the eye, blonde hair plastered to her little head. 

“Pappa says- pappa says that you have to come play with us,” she panted, out of breath from sprinting over to him. 

“Pappa says I have to?” Isak asked, eyes wide. “Well then I guess I have no choice, right?”

Faina blinked, reaching forward to poke at his face. “Mmhmm!”

“Were you having fun in the water, angel?”

“I don’t know,” the little girl shrugged, voice high and indignant, as if Isak had asked her something crazy. 

“Yes you do know. What were you doing before?” he prompted. 

“Ummm, I was playing with pappa and we were saying hi to all the fishes- and- and we were playing.” Faina nodded with finality. 

“Were the fish saying hi back?” Isak asked, resting his hands over her clammy bathing suit. 

“Dada!” Faina said exasperatedly, leaning her forehead against his chest. “Fishes don’t talk! Fishes only say hi back- only say hi back in pretend!”

“Oh,” Isak nodded seriously. “Got ya.” He patted her wet curls, picking a bit of seaweed out of one. 

“Come in the waterrr,” Faina whined after a beat, sitting up and bouncing on his chest. 

“Okay, okay,” Isak laughed, grabbing her under the armpits and swinging over his legs and onto the ground. Immediately, she took off running towards Even, who was watching them with a smile. 

“Catch me!” he heard Faina shout as she all but tripped over herself racing towards Even’s arms. He pretended to brace himself and then grabbed her, spinning around while she shrieked with laughter. 

He put her down as Isak treaded into the cold water. “It’s freezing,” he complained while Faina sat down on the shore, examining a shell as the water lapped over her legs. 

“I’m sorry, baby,” Even beamed, wrapping both arms around Isak’s waist and kissing his cheek. “I missed you.”

“Hmm,” Isak hummed happily, leaning back into Even. “Love you.”

Even squeezed him. “Love you, too.”

“Swing me!” Faina suddenly demanded, standing and walking over to them. She wormed her way into their embrace and tried to separate them. 

“Please?” Even laughed, letting go of Isak and backing up. 

“Pleaseee,” Faina whined, holding out both her arms towards them. Isak took one of her hands and Even took the other and together they swung her back and forth until she was giggling and their own arms were sore. 

 

Faina passed out in Even’s lap on the tram ride home, exhausted from the beach day. She’d worn herself down throwing a fit over having to use the public showers, which were very cold, but she’d calmed down into a tired sort of mellowness by the time Isak took her into one of the bathroom stalls and got her dressed, only occasionally giving a sniffle or rubbing at her eyes. “Sweet angel,” Isak muttered as he stood up with her in his arms and went to walk out of the stall, pressing a kiss into her fuzzy head. “What are we going to do with you?”

Now, they were on the tram and she was sleeping on Even’s lap. Isak had tucked himself into Even’s side and he was a bit tired, too, but he was also distracted by a woman and two teenagers who’d gotten on at the last stop. 

The woman was probably forty-five and had long, greying brown hair. The girl had hair the same brown color, but it was soft and wavy, and looked to be sixteen or seventeen, and the boy was probably only thirteen and had lighter hair that was buzzed on his head. They all had the same green eyes. 

The woman was watching out the window while the girl stared at a poster across the aisle. The boy was on his phone. Suddenly, he smiled and nudged the girl, who looked at his screen and smiled, too. 

“It’s you,” she said, nodding towards what Isak could assume was something hideously ugly. He was always pointing out Jonas’s similarities to horrible monsters or animals.

“This is you,” the boy replied, pointing to something else, and the girl snorted. 

“No way. I’m not the one with the huge head.”

The boy rolled his eyes and pushed her with his shoulder, knocking their heads together slightly, and she pulled back with an, “Ow.”

“Sorry,” he said quickly, and then he narrowed his eyes at her ear. “Did it hurt?”

“Not really,” the girl shrugged. She had her cartilage pierced. “It’s just sore.”

“Maybe I should get gauges,” the boy said thoughtfully, reaching up to poke her piercing. She swatted him away. 

“Gauges are gross. Get something else.”

“Hm. Mama?”

The mother didn’t turn, only kept staring out the window, until he reached across the girl and tapped her shoulder. “Mother?”

“Hm, ja?”

“What are we having for dinner?”

She replied but Isak stopped listening. He looked at Faina’s, whose hair was wetting Even’s shirt. She shifted slightly, eyes fluttering, and Isak felt his heart swell with adoration for their baby. 

At the next stop, the woman and the kids got off. Isak watched the brother and sister go with a small smile. 

 

“And then- and then pappa said “Wow!” and he pointed at the big rainbow fish, and it was big and it was swimming right in between our legs!” Faina squeaked excitedly, recounting the tale that both Isak and Even had been there for as they made her dinner. 

“Cool, baby,” Isak nodded, walking behind her to pull her hair back. 

She moved her head away, whining, “Noo.” She didn’t like them doing anything with her hair lately, which was a bit of a nuisance considering how long and curly it was. 

Isak frowned but backed off, and she immediately resumed her exciting chattering. 

Once Even was done with dinner, they all sat down to eat. “Here you go, baby girl,” he said, putting her green plastic plate of cut-up chicken and roasted asparagus in front of her. She was in her booster seat on one of the dining room chairs- she’d started going into a fit at the sight of her highchair around six months ago and research told Isak she probably wanted to feel more included in the family, so they made a switch. 

“No ‘thparagus,” she pouted now, pushing at the bits of asparagus with her tiny fork. 

“Faina,” Even said sternly, raising his eyebrows at her. 

“Nooo,” she whined, pushing the pile of veggies onto the far edge of her plate. 

“You’re eating your vegetables, missie,” Isak said as he sat down across from Even, shooting her a look, and she got red in the face. 

“No!”

“Faina!” Isak said, staring at her. Even was staring, too, but she only stared down at her lap. 

“One bite,” she said eventually. 

“Five bites,” Isak replied, and Faina crossed her arms. 

“One bite!”

“Faina, you are eating five bites of your vegetables,” Even told her, nodding.

She didn’t move, only pouted down at her veggies. Suddenly, though, she grabbed her little fork and mimicked eating, rushedly saying, “One two three four five!” as if that would fool them.

“Real bites,” Isak said, rolling his eyes when she wasn’t looking. 

Faina huffed, shaking her head. 

“If you don’t have five bites of your veggies then you’re not getting any of your special dessert tonight,” Even said, shrugging, and she immediately put both hands down on the table and pushed herself up slightly, a look of pure distress coming over her face. 

“Nooo!”

“Then you better eat those vegetables,” Even replied. 

Pouting, she picked up her fork again and shoveled three bites of the veggies into her mouth, chewing loudly. 

“Chew and swallow slow, baby,” Isak said, reaching out and laying one arm on her little arm. As soon as she swallowed, she took the last two bites, grabbing her sippy cup once those were swallowed, too. After sucking out a few long gulps of water, she put it back down and looked at her chicken. 

“Can I have ketchup?”

Sighing, Even stood up. “Alright,” he said, opening the fridge, despite how much it pained him to watch her put ketchup all over his chicken. He’d never even had ketchup in his house growing up- what the fuck even was ketchup? Nasty american crap is what. But Magnus had introduced her to it and now it was a lot easier to get her to eat meat with it. 

So he squirted some onto her plate and watched as she happily started eating away. Finally he and Isak could start eating, too. 

Dinner conversation consisted mostly of Faina telling them random, nonsensical stories that she may or may not have made up. Sometimes, when she got quiet or distracted, the boys would talk about work, but otherwise their dinner was full of fantasy. “Done!” their baby girl would eventually announce, pushing her plate away, but she knew better by now then to try and get up and run away from the table while her dads were still eating. “In this house we eat dinner together,” Even reminded her everytime she tried to bolt on them. 

“Can I have my dessert now?” Faina asked tonight as she waited for them to finish their chicken breast and roasted asparagus. She was swinging her legs impatiently under the table. 

Isak gave her a look, raising his eyebrows, and she grinned at him. “Please?”

“Since you asked so nicely,” Even replied with a slight roll of his eyes in Isak’s direction. He got up and opened the freezer, pulling out one of the swirl popsicles they’d bought earlier that week. Faina had been endlessly excited for them, and even now she made a funny little noise in anticipation. 

Soon, she had purple and green juice running into a brown color down her chin. “Napkin, baby,” Isak said, passing her one, and she took it and dabbed carelessly at her face. 

Isak finished up his food, and then stood to gather his and Even’s plates and start washing them. 

“Dada?”

“Yes, my love?”

“Did you know that my- that my… my hair looks like yours?”

Isak turned to look at her as Even beamed between the two of them, reaching out and taking her hand. “What do you mean, baby girl?”

“Umm, well, I mean that your hair goes all around, like this,” she made a gesture with her finger that was suggestive of a loopty-loop, “and mine does, too, and when pappa comes home his hair doesn’t do that, but when pappa wakes up in the morning his hair is crazy!” She emphasized “crazy” with wide eyes and a broad sweep of her hands over her head, making Even laugh loudly. 

“My hair is crazy, huh?”

“Mmhmm! But me and dada’s hair is normal, like this,” she patted her blonde curls with one hand. 

“That’s very perceptive, angel,” Even said, stroking her knuckles. 

“What’s that?” she asked. 

“Perceptive is when you notice a lot of things,” Isak chimed in. 

“Oh,” Faina nodded. She watched Isak wash the dishes for a few more seconds before wiggling. “Can I get down now?”

“Alright,” Even stood up, helping her down. “Let’s go get you in your jammies, sweetheart.”

Isak continued doing the dishes as they walked down the hall into her room. As soon as they turned the corner, Faina ran towards her stuffed pony, folding her legs under her butt and picking it up. 

Her room in the new house was painted light, icy blue at her choosing. When they’d moved, shortly after the wedding, they’d let her pick and she’d been ecstatic. “Pappa?” she was saying now, combing the pony’s glittery mane with her fingers. 

“Yes?”

“Will you tell me the prince story tonight?” 

Even felt the corners of his mouth quirk up. “Alright.” He took out a little purple pajama set out of her drawers. “Get undressed, buddy.”

She hopped up and did as he said, tugging her shirt over her head. He helped her with her pants and then started getting her into her jammies. Soon, she was warm and snuggly in Even’s arms as he carried her back out to the living room for the her bedtime show, the only TV they allowed her. 

Even put her down on the couch and turned on the show she picked before walking back in the kitchen to find Isak. 

“Halla,” he murmured, kissing the nape of his neck. 

“Hei,” Isak breathed back, scrubbing the last plate. 

“She’s watching her show.”

“Alright.”

“What do you want to do after we put her down?” 

Isak stilled. “I wanna talk with you,” he said quietly, and, okay, this was new. What on earth did he want to talk about?

“Is everything okay?” was Even’s first question, and Isak turned to look at him. 

“Everything’s great,” he whispered, leaning their foreheads together. “I just wanna talk about something.”

“Okay,” Even nodded, and Isak kissed him. 

“I love you,” he mumbled. 

Even pulled him closer. “I love you, too.”

 

Later, after Faina had nearly dozed off in front of the TV, Even was laying in bed next to her and Isak was sitting in the rocking chair across the way. “Once upon a time,” Even began, pushing back some of her curls, “there were two princes.”

Faina nodded, eyes sleepy and she snuggled closer to him. 

“One of these princes was younger, and he was a bit sad.”

“Why?” Faina questioned, searching Even’s face. 

“He was lonely, angel. And the other prince was older, and he was a bit sad, too,” Even continued. 

“Why?”

“Because he had to leave his kingdom and he was a little scared.”

“Why?”

“Because he just was, baby,” Even said, stroking her cheek. “But the older prince came to a new kingdom. And on his very first day there, he saw the younger prince with the younger prince’s friends. And he’d never seen somebody more beautiful.” Even glanced at Isak, who was glowing. “He thought the younger prince was the most perfect person in the whole world.

“So, one day, when the older prince and the younger prince were in school together, the older prince decided he had to meet the younger prince. So he followed the younger prince into the bathroom and took all the tissues, just so the younger prince would notice him.”

“But that’s silly, pappa,” Faina giggled sleepily. 

“It was very silly, sweet girl,” Isak interjected. “But the older prince didn’t know that the younger prince had already seen him, too, and that the younger prince that the older prince was also the most perfect person in the world.”

Even smiled warmly at him, but quickly turned his face into a pout. “Stop stealing my story,” he demanded, and Isak laughed. 

“Pappa, keepy going,” Faina nudged him. 

“Alright, buddy. So… the younger prince asked the older prince why he had taken all the tissues. ‘I just wanted you to notice me,’ the older prince said. The younger prince thought this was funny. ‘But I’ve already noticed you!’ he said. And so they decided to take a walk together.

“While they were walking, the older prince learned all sorts of things about the younger prince. That the younger prince was smart and brave and funny-”

“And the younger prince learned that the older prince was the most kind person in the world, and that he was bright and interesting and so, so good,” Isak cut in. 

“Yes, yes, they learned lots about each other,” Even said. “And they started to fall in love.”

“Like you and dada,” Faina nodded. 

“Just like us,” Even nodded back. “And day by day, they fell in love a little more, and they went on a lot of adventures together. And then, one day, they had a beautiful baby princess. And she was smart and kind and so, so important, baby. Just like you.”

“And they weren’t sad anymore?” Faina asked, looking up at him with wide blue eyes. Even kissed her head. 

“And they weren’t sad anymore, angel. And then they got married, and they lived happily ever after with their sweet baby girl.”

Faina hummed, snuggling closer to him. Even stroked her hair. “Goodnight, my love,” he whispered. 

“Goodnight, baby girl,” Isak walked over and leaned across Even to kiss her cheek. 

“Goodnight, pappa,” Faina yawned, “goodnight, dada. I love you.”

“Love you too, angel,” Isak whispered back as Even said, “We love you too, baby.”

Even wasn’t actually allowed to leave until she was asleep, so Isak turned on the white noise machine and then turned out all the lights but her Eeyore nightlight while he stayed cuddled up with her. “I’m gonna go wash up,” Isak whispered, laying one hand on Even’s shoulder, and the older boy nodded. 

Once in the bathroom, Isak looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was getting long- it now fell into his eyes a bit. He looked no more tired than usual. The ring on his left hand glinted. 

 

The wedding had been beautiful, of course. They’d had it during the fall of 2020, when Faina was one and a half, about six months after Isak proposed with a ring much like the one he’d gotten Even for Christmas while he was pregnant, except the soundwave actually did translate to him saying “I love you,” this time. 

The hadn’t planned on having it so quickly after the proposal, but then a spot had opened up at the most beautiful location up in the mountains, and it had just seemed perfect. Everyone important was there- Jonas and Mikael as Isak and Even’s respective best men, with the other balloon boys as Even’s groomsmen and Mahdi and Mags as Isak’s. Faina, of course, had been their flower girl, although she didn’t do much; Eva carried her down the aisle and “helped” her throw the petals basically by throwing them herself. Liv and Alex walked Even down the aisle and Marianna walked Isak. Terje was there, but he simply sat in the audience and clapped politely. 

Even’s vows had been like fucking poetry, of course, which made Isak nearly scrap the monologue about the stats of him and Even meeting at the right time in the right place in this universe, but he didn’t and everyone was crying by the end and damn, that was a happy day. One of the best days. 

Since then, they’d both finished school, picked up steady jobs, and bought a real house, with help from Even’s parents. And, so, looking back on all this while he studied himself in the mirror, Isak couldn’t help but feel like it was time. 

He heard Even walk into the bedroom and quickly finished up brushing his teeth before walking out of the bathroom to meet him. “Halla, baby boy,” Even said tiredly. “She’s asleep.”

“Good,” Isak nodded. He walked to the drawers as Even moved to the bathroom. 

After a few minutes, they were both washed up and changed and in bed. Even pulled Isak onto his chest and kissed him lightly. “What did you want to talk about, my love?” he asked, playing with Isak’s curls, which had gone fuzzy from the long day. 

And this was it. The moment he’d been waiting for all day- for a few months, actually. The moment he’d debated in his head a million times. 

“Evy?” Isak whispered, almost shy. 

“What is it?”

And Even might not be ready. He might think they should wait. He might’ve changed his mind about the whole idea in the first place. But Isak had to say it anyway. 

“I want to start trying for another baby.”

And Even? Even fucking beamed. 

“Yeah,” he nodded. 

“Yeah?” Isak asked, smile tugging at his mouth. Even had to kiss him. 

“Yeah. Let’s have another baby.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments encourage me lots!! <33


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